If executed, the hubs create a new removal pathway for rejected asylum seekers whose origin countries refuse repatriation, reducing reliance on bilateral returns agreements. The move pulls the initiative from political signaling into near-term operational planning, implying procurement, staffing, and host-country negotiations could start on an accelerated timeline. For Greece, it targets a capacity gap between 5,000–7,000 annual returns and roughly half of 40,000–50,000 annual arrivals receiving rejections, which would shift detention, transport, and case-processing requirements.