Leaders clash at EU summit as offshore migration 'return hubs' top policy agenda

European leaders yesterday sparred over the controversial idea of processing asylum seekers offshore at a summit dominated by plans to toughen up EU migration policy.

- Jennifer Rankin, Lorenzo Tondo

Plans for the offshore processing of asylum claims or "return hubs" in non-EU countries have gained traction in recent weeks, after large gains for the far right in European elections in June unnerved mainstream leaders across the continent.

In a move that insiders say would have been unthinkable a few years ago, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said the EU should explore the idea of creating “return hubs" outside its borders to help in deporting unwanted migrants.

But as leaders arrived in Brussels yesterday, details were scant and officials have not made clear which countries might host the centres.

The EU, von der Leyen said, should learn from the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni's deal with Albania, an EU candidate country that is hosting two asylum centres to process the claims of men intercepted in international waters trying to reach Italy.

Meloni said there were “many countries looking at the Albania model", and praised von der Leyen. "There is a desire to work on pragmatic solutions," she said.

Amid turmoil in the Middle East, the Italian prime minister also urged fellow EU leaders to review their policy on Syria so refugees from that country could “return home voluntarily, safely and sustainably".