Uzbekistan denies plans to host EU migration centres

Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry has denied as false reports suggesting that the country may host centres for migrants expelled from the European Union.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Omonulla Fayziev said at present, negotiations on this issue are not being conducted or planned with institutions of the European Union, Caliber.Az reports, citing Uzbek media.

Earlier, the US publication Politico, citing three unnamed European diplomats, reported that a group of EU countries planned to approach 8–10 non-EU states with a proposal to host centres for migrants whose asylum applications had been rejected.

According to the report, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Germany and Greece are working on establishing joint “return hubs” as well as asylum processing centres outside the EU.

In return, countries agreeing to participate could be offered development assistance or visa liberalisation.

One diplomat told Politico that Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were being considered as potential partners.

In October 2025, Uzbekistan and the European Union signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which was said to open the possibility of negotiations on readmission and visa facilitation.

In December, Uzbekistan and the EU launched talks on visa facilitation.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov