Dutch Trade and Development Minister Renate Klever announced late on Wednesday that her conservative government was considering a plan to deport African asylum seekers to Uganda.

Klever raised the issue during her visit to Uganda, but it remains unclear whether the plan is legal or feasible, or whether Uganda would agree to it.

The plan is part of a European trend to set up ‘return centres’ outside the EU to temporarily house asylum seekers before they are sent back to their countries of origin.

In the coming days, the European Commission, under its new mandate, is expected to present proposals aimed at strengthening the EU’s position on migration, in response to growing pressure from governments within the bloc as irregular arrivals have become a major political and security challenge.