Two members of the European Parliament (MEPs) said on 30 September 2026 that Rwandan officials told them directly that Kigali is open to hosting migrant return facilities for European Union (EU) member states. They said Rwanda had held preliminary discussions with some EU member states and that no agreement has been reached. Tineke Strik (Greens/European Free Alliance group) and Anna Strolenberg (Volt, Netherlands) spoke at a virtual press conference after an exploratory mission to Rwanda and Uganda the previous week. Rwandan officials were not immediately available for comment to Reuters.
Both lawmakers oppose return hubs, and they described the mission as exploratory rather than an endorsement. Strolenberg said: "Most likely the first country that a deal will be struck with is Rwanda." An EU official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Rwanda is among the countries being considered. The disclosure came ahead of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 1 October, where deportations and return hubs are on the formal agenda.
What the lawmakers saw and what the five governments want
The five governments are Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands. They aim to conclude agreements this year to send migrants with no legal right to remain to return hubs in third countries. They want the first hub operating in the second half of 2027, a period that coincides with Greece's presidency of the Council of the EU. The group is expected to meet on the sidelines of the Luxembourg council.
Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris has said Greece has chosen an African partner "that we have already agreed on" but cannot yet name it. He described the planned sites as open facilities: "We are not talking about centers in the sense that someone whose asylum application is rejected is sent to a closed facility in a third country."
In Rwanda, Strik and Strolenberg were shown two facilities, one of them a hotel, prepared under Britain's abandoned deportation scheme. Such buildings could be repurposed, which could shorten set-up time.
Observers are reading: how the unadopted Return Regulation, the British court ruling and Kigali's own incentives shape the odds of a first EU hub.
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What the confirmation does and does not establish
The lawmakers' account establishes that, in their telling, Rwandan officials are willing to discuss hosting EU return facilities and that Rwanda has held preliminary talks with some member states. It does not establish a signed agreement, a finished legal framework or a public Rwandan position. Greece has not named its chosen partner, and the Return Regulation still awaits formal adoption.
Strik was blunt about the project: "The deportation plans by these five member states are unrealistic, inhumane and costly." Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders, have doubted that independent oversight, legal representation and medical care can be guaranteed at such sites.
Whether the Luxembourg meeting produces any public commitment, and whether Kigali confirms the talks itself, will show how far the process has moved beyond the lawmakers' account.
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