Itali saran pusat pemulangan migran di luar EU selepas krisis Ceuta

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is proposing discussions on establishing a refugee return center in a non-EU country, with the first center potentially opening by 2027, according to Italian news agency Corriere della Sera on Monday, according to Sputnik/RIA Novosti. The initiative is expected to be a major topic during an informal online meeting of EU interior ministers on Tuesday.

Italy will be represented by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. Rome aims to finalize a deal with a third country, based on the Italian-Albania model, before the end of the year. Funding for the center is expected to come from the EU. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen backs the Italian initiative. 20 EU countries have sent a letter to European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President Antonio Costa to propose a new protection mechanism against illegal migration, with Rwanda and Uganda leading the discussion among the most advanced African nations.

Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, and Germany are leading the effort, while Greece plans to start the experiment in 2027, urging the implementation of the initiative. Italy controls centers for arrivals outside its territory using its own funds and under its jurisdiction to process asylum applications and detain and deport undocumented migrants.

However, the Italian court has repeatedly banned the detention of migrants and ordered them to be returned to Italy; in a dispute with the executive branch, the court also challenged the accelerated border procedure for nationals from countries considered safe. La Stampa reports that 73 people were transferred to Albania between October 2024 and January 2025, all later returned to Italy after a court order.

In the second phase, 685 people were transferred to Albania between May 2025 and mid-July 2026, with less than 15% of them being returned. According to Italian media reports, the cost of setting up a center in Gjader in 2025 is estimated at €50 million (USD57.67 million). Last month, the autonomous Spanish city of Ceuta, located on the North African coast, witnessed a massive influx of migrants from neighboring Maghreb countries.

Spain deployed additional police officers, civilian guards, and troops to the area to prevent unauthorized border crossings. Ceuta's mayor Juan Jesus Vivas announced on July 31 that around 60,000 people entered Ceuta in a 24-hour period, with the city's population of about 85,000.