THE HAGUE: The Netherlands and Uganda signed a letter of intent Thursday to set up a return center in the east African country for rejected asylum seekers.
The move comes ahead of an election in October caused by the collapse of Dutch government when far-right leader Geert Wilders pulled his party from the ruling coalition in a row over asylum rules.
“We need to start focusing more on what can be done, rather than on what cannot,” Dutch Migration Minister David Van Weel said in a statement after meeting Ugandan Foreign Minister Odongo Jeje Abubakhar on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“That is why we are taking this step with Uganda to get migration under control.”
The plan targets people from countries near Uganda who must leave the Netherlands but cannot be returned directly or voluntarily, the statement said.
The individuals concerned will be accommodated in Uganda temporarily at a reception location.
From there they will be expected to return to their country of origin.
“The ministers have made clear that the arrangements concerning the transit hub must comply with national, European and international law,” the statement said, assuring the human rights of those affected will be “safeguarded.”
The initiative drew criticism when first announced in 2024, with opposition parties calling it unrealistic.
Wilders has demanded sweeping asylum restrictions, including a freeze on applications, limits on family reunification and halting the construction of new reception centers.
In the United Kingdom, a plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda was struck down after a series of court challenges.
The scheme was formally scrapped in 2024 without a single transfer taking place.
Netherlands, Uganda edge closer to deal on migrant return center
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Netherlands, Uganda edge closer to deal on migrant return center
- A return center will be set up in Uganda for rejected asylum seekers in the Netherlands
Finland warns end of Ukraine war could bring more Russian spying
- SUPO said that while the Ukraine conflict would probably continue for the “foreseeable future,” its end would free up Russian resources
- “Russian intelligence capacity in Europe has suffered due to the war”
HELSINKI: Finland’s intelligence agency warned Tuesday that Russian spies could boost their efforts to target and destabilize the new NATO member once the Ukraine war ends.
The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) said that while the Ukraine conflict, triggered by Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022, would probably continue for the “forseeable future,” its end would free up Russian resources.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, dropped decades of military non-alignment to join NATO in April 2023 in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, enraging the Kremlin.
“Russian intelligence capacity in Europe has suffered due to the war, and Russia is preparing to restore this capacity,” SUPO said in a statement.
“Russian intelligence and influencing resources currently tied to Ukraine will become available to be used elsewhere after the war.”
SUPO said Finland would remain of interest to Russia as “a NATO country between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic region.”
If relations between Europe and Russia improve, “the intelligence threat posed by Russia to Finland will become more diverse, with previous operating methods complemented by methods proven effective in the current environment,” Juha Martelius, Director of SUPO, said.
“These include the extensive utilization of proxy actors and intelligence gathering from bases on Russian soil,” he added.
Finland has in the past accused Moscow of “hybrid warfare” in orchestrating a surge of migrants at their shared border — a charge the Kremlin denied.
Last year, western officials accused Russian vessels of sabotaging undersea communications and power cables in several high-profile incidents in the Baltic Sea in recent months.
But SUPO warned about attributing too many incidents to Russia.
“As various events are readily attributed to Russia, Russian influencing against Finland may appear more extensive than it truly is,” it said.
