Italy Proposes EU Establish Immigrant Detention Centres in Africa

Italy will reportedly propose the establishment of detention centres in several countries, particularly in Africa, to house immigrants arriving without documents in European Union nations. According to a report by the media outlet Corriere della Sera, amid a migration crisis in Spain, 22 EU member states have signed a letter urging the organisation’s leadership to strengthen the region’s borders and combat illegal migration. In a similar letter, dozens of European countries also called for an extraordinary video conference between the interior ministers of each member state to be held immediately. According to the report, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will put forward the proposal to establish detention centres for the repatriation of illegal immigrants during the European Council meeting on Tuesday, 4 August. The detention centres would be created similarly to those Italy previously established in Albania, with EU funding, and are proposed to be located almost entirely in Africa. Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Montenegro, which are not in Africa, were also mentioned. In 2023, Italy and Albania signed an agreement to combat illegal immigration through the establishment of two Italian detention centres on Albanian territory. These Italian-funded and administered facilities serve as locations for processing asylum applications and deporting undocumented immigrants. The Court of Justice of the European Union also issued a similar ruling, designating Bangladesh and Egypt as unsafe countries for repatriation purposes. In May, Albanian Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha announced that Tirana would not renew the agreement with Italy on combating illegal migration.