Overview
- Interior ministers agreed a draft that removes the 'connection element', allowing transfers to any partner country with an agreement and enabling new return hubs outside the EU for people ordered to leave.
- The package includes a solidarity mechanism for 2026 with 21,000 relocations and a €420 million pool, while reporting indicates Germany expects no relocations in 2026–27 due to prior intake.
- Spain voiced human-rights objections and abstained, and recent court action against Italy’s Shengjin operation in Albania underscores legal risks to third‑country schemes.
- Germany’s Alexander Dobrindt said Italy and Greece will resume Dublin take-backs from Germany, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz predicted internal border checks could end once the common system functions at the external frontiers.
- More than 250 groups urged Berlin to evacuate about 1,800 Afghans with admission promises stranded in Pakistan this month, as reports detailed visa reversals for 123 former local staff families despite prior assurances.