The European Commission proposed giving the Frontex agency a central role in arranging the expulsion of people with no right to stay in the EU and to create a 17,000-strong "reserve" of officers ready to be deployed when needed.
"Europe will always stand up for the protection of its borders. Europe decides who comes to our Union and under what circumstances," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said.
Denmark, Austria, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands are working to have one centre running in 2027 -- with Rwanda tipped as the likely host country.
"Frontex will be able to help organising and carrying out return operations from one third country to another," Brussels said.
The agency was created in 2004 to patrol the Schengen visa-free travel area's external borders, fight cross-border crime and manage migratory flows. Its mandate was first expanded after a 2015 migration crisis when more than one million people arrived in Europe.
Comment:
The world is changing quickly. Just a thought.