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The prime ministers of Italy and Denmark, Giorgia Meloni and Mette Frederiksen, on Monday called for a more restrictive European migration policy and advocated for the creation of repatriation centers in third countries to manage migrants who do not have the right to remain in the European Union.
In a joint statement, the two leaders reject “uncontrolled immigration” and assure that they have promoted a “rigorous” migration policy both in their countries and at the European level. They also maintain that irregular immigration has negative consequences for European societies and call for strengthening border control and return mechanisms.
The initiative arrives in the midst of a migratory crisis following the massive entry of migrants into Ceuta on July 30, eleven days ago. The episode has also caused a diplomatic conflict between Spain and Italy: the Meloni government introduced checks at airports and ports for travelers coming from Spain and, given the Italian refusal to withdraw them, Madrid applied an equivalent measure to travelers coming from Italy.
The proposal comes less than a week after the Twenty-seven express their “strong solidarity” with Spain due to the Ceuta crisis, but also expressed reservations about the extraordinary regularization promoted by the Pedro Sánchez government. In that meeting, the EU Interior Ministers agreed to call for more border control, to strengthen returns, and to deepen cooperation with third countries. Meloni and Frederiksen are now advocating for repatriation centers to be one of the tools to expedite expulsions and are using the cooperation between Italy and Albania as a reference.