Italy is aiming to extend at European level the model of migrant centres set up in Albania, proposing the creation of expulsion hubs of foreign nationals arriving on EU turf unlawfully to safe third countries while their asylum and immigration files are examined.
The proposal, revealed by leading Italian media outlets and confirmed by government officials, will be presented by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi at the extraordinary Council of European Union interior ministers convened for Tuesday.
The meeting was organised after the migration emergency that erupted in Ceuta, the Spanish exclave on Moroccan territory, where over the course of the last few days, as many as 70,000 migrants forced their way into the autonomous Spanish territory.
Among the potential host countries are several African states, with Uganda cited as one of the most concrete options. The question of the resources needed to fund the project, however, remains open.
"We need to build a common strategy on immigration. The Italian government requested this meeting, together with Denmark’s social democratic government, so that the Pact on Migration and Asylum is implemented in the EU. In other words, returns are activated," said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to local media outlets ahead of Tuesday's meeting.
