European lawmakers approve easier setup of migrant detention centers outside EU

European lawmakers today approved a measure making it easier to establish migrant detention centers outside the European Union. Members of the European Parliament voted 389-206 in favour, with 32 abstentions. Under the new framework, individual EU countries or small coalitions can strike their own agreements to send migrants denied asylum to facilities located outside the 27-member bloc, rather than returning them to their countries of origin. Several countries, including Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Denmark, are already in talks with governments, largely in Africa, to host such centers. However, Human rights organizations warn that migrants are already facing abuse and unlawful pushbacks at EU borders and argue that legal protections for asylum seekers are steadily being weakened.