The meeting of the Core Group’s migration ministers, comprising ministers from Denmark, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Greece, concluded in Copenhagen on Friday.
Greece was represented by Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris.

The ministerial meeting marked an important milestone for European migration policy, with the participating countries advancing a concrete and workable plan to establish the innovative Return Hubs model in safe third countries, particularly in Africa.

Greece’s participation is considered significant, as the only southern European country actively involved in shaping the new strategy.

The ministers confirmed their agreement on the key principles of a framework for future cooperation with a third-country partner, making full use of the new European Returns Regulation, which is expected to enter into force in autumn 2026. The framework aims to ensure full legal compliance, effective implementation and adherence to international law.

Plevris said the Copenhagen meeting marked an important milestone for European migration policy.

He said Europe was demonstrating in practice that it could design and implement bold, innovative and effective solutions. For the Greek government, he stressed, the creation of Return Hubs must be based on full compliance with European and international law. He said a specific roadmap setting out legal requirements and national timelines had been agreed, while technical meetings and consultations with potential third countries had already begun.

Plevris expressed optimism that a mutually beneficial agreement would soon be reached to put the model into operation. For Greece, an EU country located on the bloc’s external borders and bearing a disproportionate burden in managing migration flows, the Return Hubs are not simply a theoretical concept but rather an urgent national necessity.

He stressed that Greece remained at the forefront of European solidarity while also taking deterrence measures, adding that it could not become a permanent point of containment for people not entitled to international protection. Combining legal firmness, strategic planning and close cooperation with international organisations, he said, Greece was building a fair and, above all, effective returns system to protect its borders and restore order.