Italy is set to propose a European-wide network of migrant return centres in safe third countries, modelled on the facilities it operates in Albania. The plan, to be presented by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi at an extraordinary meeting of EU interior ministers on Tuesday, would see irregular arrivals processed and held outside the bloc while their asylum and immigration claims are assessed.
The meeting was convened after the recent migrant surge in Ceuta, the Spanish exclave on Morocco's coast, where tens of thousands of people crossed the border in a matter of days. The episode has sharpened divisions among member states over how to manage migration, with Rome and Madrid publicly at odds.
Uganda among potential host countries
According to Italian media reports and government officials, the proposal includes a list of potential host countries across Africa and beyond. Uganda is cited as one of the most concrete options, with Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands reportedly expressing interest in projects there. Other candidates include Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Montenegro.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Italian media that the goal is to build a common European strategy on immigration. "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," he said. Tajani also floated the "possibility of creating new Albania-model centres in various African countries" and "more generally in the countries of origin and transit".
The Italian proposal would see the new hubs financed through the EU budget, though the question of funding remains open. Rome is also pushing for stricter application of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) programme, which links trade benefits for developing countries to their cooperation on readmitting nationals who enter the EU illegally. The scheme is set to enter into force on 1 January 2027.
Clash with Spain over migration policy
The Ceuta crisis has laid bare the rift between Italy and Spain. Tajani defended the approach of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government as "rigorous and moderate", while criticising the Spanish government led by Pedro Sánchez for what he called an overly permissive stance. "Madrid's approach runs counter to the Italian one, which almost all the other countries support," he said.
"The 'everyone come to Europe' policy is wrong, because Europe is not able to take in everyone indiscriminately. And it is a good sign that the European Commission has backed Italy's position and not Spain's," Tajani added. He accused the Spanish government of "ideological manipulation" around migration, arguing that the cooperation plan could lead to "policies that are needed", far removed from "slogans and false promises".
The Italian government has also reinstated border checks on arrivals from Spain following the Ceuta surge, a move that underscores the tension between the two Mediterranean neighbours.
Albania centres: limited use so far
The proposal builds on Italy's experience with its centres in Albania, which have so far operated below capacity. The main facility in Gjader includes an 880-bed centre for asylum seekers, a 144-person repatriation holding unit, and a small 20-person holding prison. A reception hotspot in the port of Schengjin was built to take in migrants intercepted in the central Mediterranean.
Initially, the Albanian centres were intended to process up to 3,000 people a month, with a potential annual capacity of 36,000. But since April last year, the site has operated exclusively as a detention centre for returns, with only a few hundred people passing through and limited numbers actually repatriated. Interior Minister Piantedosi said the goal is to bring the Gjader centre "back into full operation at the height of its capacity by the end of the year, or even earlier if the problems and legal proceedings are resolved".
The Italian proposal is expected to be discussed alongside the EU's new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which includes a regulation on returns. The meeting on Tuesday will be attended by interior ministers from all 27 member states, with the European Commission also present. The outcome could shape the bloc's approach to external processing for years to come.
