Italy will present a proposal to the European Council on August 4 to establish EU-funded detention centers for illegal migrants in several non-EU countries, with Armenia reportedly included on the preliminary list of potential host states, according to Italy’s Corriere della Sera.
The proposal follows a joint letter signed by 22 EU member states calling for tougher measures to combat illegal migration and strengthen the European Union’s external borders.
According to the newspaper, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will present a plan modeled on Italy’s migration agreement with Albania. Under the proposal, irregular migrants would be transferred to detention centers outside the EU, where their asylum claims would be processed and arrangements made for their return to their countries of origin.
Unlike the existing agreement with Albania, the proposed network of detention centers would be financed by the European Union. While the majority of the facilities are expected to be established in Africa, Corriere della Sera reported that Armenia is among the countries being considered.
The newspaper’s preliminary list of potential host countries includes Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Montenegro, and Armenia.
The proposal is expected to be discussed by EU leaders during the European Council meeting on August 4.
The report comes as migration pressure on Europe’s southern border continues to grow. On July 30, thousands of young Moroccans gathered near the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in an attempt to cross into European territory.
Pashinyan’s government has not commented on the report, and neither the European Union nor Italy has officially confirmed Armenia’s inclusion in the proposal.
