Italy is expected to present a proposal at the European Union Council meeting scheduled for August 4 to establish centers for holding irregular migrants from EU member states in several countries, including Armenia, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Earlier, 22 EU member states sent a letter to the bloc’s leadership calling for stronger external border protection and tougher measures to combat irregular migration, Sputnik Armenia reported.
According to the newspaper, Italy, represented by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, will present a proposal at the August 4 European Council meeting to create new return centers for irregular migrants based on the Albanian model. The centers would be financed with European Union funds and would be located primarily in Africa.
The newspaper said the preliminary list of potential host countries includes Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Uganda, as well as Uzbekistan, Armenia, Montenegro, and Ethiopia.
On July 30, thousands of young Moroccans gathered near the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. According to the latest figures from Spain’s Interior Ministry and local authorities, between 40,000 and 60,000 irregular migrants crossed into Ceuta in a single day. Spanish authorities responded by rapidly reinforcing the border with additional police and military personnel to bring the situation under control.
According to Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement agencies, the large-scale crisis was largely driven by calls circulating on social media, where instructions and videos coordinating migrants’ actions were widely shared.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also said she is discussing with Spain the possibility of suspending Schengen arrangements in response to the influx of irregular migrants into the Spanish enclave. Finland and Denmark have joined the proposal.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Morocco to readmit migrants who reached the Spanish city of Ceuta and said Madrid must regain control of the situation in the enclave. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also called for illegal border crossings to be stopped.
