EU Commission keeps funding option for migrant centres outside the Union

The European Commission said it has not ruled out providing EU funding for centres located outside the European Union where migrants without a right to stay will be housed while their return to their home countries is prepared. The Commission’s spokesperson emphasized that Member States decide which migrants lack a basis for residence and must be returned, highlighting that only those whose asylum applications have been fully processed and rejected will be sent back. Talks in Brussels with Taliban representatives about returning Afghan nationals who pose security risks are ongoing, with the Commission noting that discussions are technical and do not amount to recognition of Taliban authority. Recent changes to EU migration legislation now allow for the creation of such external centres and require Member States to recognise and enforce each other's decisions on asylum refusals.