The European Parliament and EU Member States reached an agreement on Monday evening to tighten the European Union's migration policy, including creating centres outside Europe where irregular migrants can be deported.
The legislation includes a series of measures aimed at speeding up deportations and would allow countries that wish to do so to establish centres abroad for people whose asylum applications have been rejected.
The compromise agreement must still receive final approval from the European Parliament and member states in the coming weeks.
Several European countries, including Denmark, Austria and Germany, are already considering potential locations for such centres, including Rwanda, Uganda and Uzbekistan.
The idea of creating so-called "return hubs" that have no connection to migrants' countries of origin is not new. It was previously tested by the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni in Albania, where migrants were transferred before their asylum claims were examined, unlike the system envisaged under the new EU legislation.
However, the Albanian centre has remained largely unused for an extended period due to a series of legal challenges.
France has expressed scepticism about such centres, while Spain has opposed them, arguing that they undermine respect for human rights.
The text agreed on Monday also provides for stricter sanctions against migrants who refuse to leave EU territory. Measures could include the confiscation of identity documents and extending detention periods to up to 24 months.
The entry ban imposed on migrants returned against their will would also be extended to 10 years, compared with five years currently, and could reach up to 20 years in some cases.
At present, only around 20% of deportation decisions are ultimately carried out.
