A group of European migrants

Yerevan Says it Has Not Received Such a Proposal

The Italian government is proposing to create a network of centers outside the European Union dedicated to the management and return of what the country is calling “irregular migrants,” based on cooperation with countries of origin and transit.

The idea was first put forward by the Italian premier Giorgia Meloni at the end of June, after gaining approval of the new EU regulation on returns.

The proposal was to have been presented by Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on Tuesday at the extraordinary Council of European Union interior ministers. The meeting was organized, Euro News reported, after the migration emergency that erupted in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave 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.

Armenia is among the initial list proposed by Italy. Potential other candidates included on the list are Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan and Montenegro.

Uganda is among the options considered most concrete. Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are reported to have already expressed interest in possible projects in the African country. The question of the resources needed to fund the project, however, remains open, although under the Italian proposal the initiative would be financed by the EU.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the EU had not submitted such a proposal to Yerevan, thus the matter has not been discussed by Armenia.

“No such proposal was made to us [i.e. Armenia], no such matter was discussed with us,” Armenian foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said.

—