The possibility of building reception centers in Montenegro for migrants returned from the European Union (EU) currently looks more like an independent initiative by Rome than an idea accepted at the Union level, and at this stage of negotiations with Brussels, this certainly cannot be imposed as an obligation on official Podgorica.
This was assessed by an immigration law expert for "Vijesti". Bojan Bulgarian, commenting on allegations by Italian media that Montenegro is on the preliminary list of countries that, as so-called third countries, should accept migrants who are not approved to be in the EU.
The information was published on Sunday by the Italian news agency "ANSA", stating that Rome, following the migrant crisis in Spanish Ceuta - where 72.000 people illegally entered the country's territory at the end of July (over 70.000 have already returned to Morocco) - wants to expand its "Albanian model" to the European level, with new centers for the repatriation of irregular migrants to safe third countries, which would be financed from EU funds.
According to the media outlet, the idea was put forward by the Italian Prime Minister at the end of June. George Meloni, and the Minister of Internal Affairs Matteo Piantedozzi He was supposed to present it at yesterday's extraordinary meeting of the EU Council of Interior Ministers, convened after the Ceuta crisis. However, there was no official confirmation yesterday whether Piantedozi actually did so.
"There is already a preliminary list of countries that could host them, many of which are in Africa. These include Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Egypt, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Montenegro and Ethiopia... Among the most likely candidates could be Uganda - in which Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have already shown interest - and Montenegro," claims "ANSA".
The Prime Minister reacted to such allegations yesterday. Milojko Spajic, saying that there will be no reception centers for migrants from EU countries in Montenegro.
"Montenegro has not conducted negotiations on the establishment of such centers on its territory... The government has not received an official initiative to open them, and when that initiative is on the table, our response will be negative," the prime minister wrote on the social network "Iks".
The Italian Embassy in Podgorica did not respond to questions from "Vijesti" yesterday about why Rome believes Montenegro would be a good location for the Italian plan, and how they view Spajić's reaction.
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Bulgarian: Important response from the rest of the EU
Bojan Bugarin told the newspaper that the question is what kind of response the Italian initiative will receive in other EU member states, that is, whether, in the end, it will be a proposal that Rome will "push" independently or whether it will be an idea that Brussels also stands behind.
"The big question is whether this Italian initiative will receive support at the EU level. What is very important is to see whether this will become just something that Italy is pushing, or whether it will perhaps become a common EU position towards all those countries that are listed as potential countries of destination, including Montenegro... In any case, this is something that cannot be imposed on us as an obligation at this stage of the negotiations," he claims.
The interlocutor says that it is also questionable whether this initiative is something that Italy could potentially use as a tool in Montenegro's accession negotiations with the EU.
In any case, Bugarin points out that at this point the initiative looks more like Italy's attempts to "push through" something, and possibly gain support from other member states, in large part due to the financing of the project.
"... This does not seem to me like something the EU will determine for Montenegro... We are close to membership and we will share the fate of migration when we become part of the EU... Then there may be a decision to relocate a certain number of migrants to other EU countries, so that these traditional destination countries are not under great pressure," he underlined.
Bruner: Six member states are talking to third countries
The Italian media outlet “Il Sole 24 Ore” reported yesterday that the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Bruner after a meeting of the EU Council of Interior Ministers, he said that six EU member states are working together to launch talks with third countries on the creation of centers for the return of migrants.
"Return centers have, of course, been mentioned by some member states, especially those that are preparing such structures or preparing to launch negotiations with third countries," Bruner said.
He, writes "Il Sole 24 Ore", made a distinction between these initiatives and the agreements between Rome and Tirana.
"The Italy-Albania project is different: it is an Italian project. But, as you know, five member states, and now six, are working together on talks with third countries on the creation of return centres," Bruner said, adding that it is also necessary to work on the concept of a "safe third country", on the basis of which the asylum procedure can be carried out outside the EU.
"Il Sole 24 Ore" reported that the local Interior Minister Piantedozzi announced at the meeting that Italy had officially requested that countries like Morocco - which, although not cooperating on the return of (its) migrants, enjoy significant benefits in trade relations with Europe - be subject to "strict conditions in all sectors, using all available pressure mechanisms".
His colleague from Spain Fernando Grande Marlaska said that Madrid had already voted against centers in third countries.
"So, it is not news and it was certainly not the central point of today's meeting of the Council of Ministers, which mainly focused on what should have been the center of attention: the crisis in Ceuta," Grande Marlaska stated.
The EU Council website announced yesterday that the interior ministers of the member states discussed the recent developments in Ceuta, and expressed their readiness to support Spain and protect the EU's external borders.
It is stated that a common understanding was reached on the need to continue the "relentless fight" against migrant smuggling networks, to step up returns, strengthen EU borders, but also to build deep partnerships with third countries.
"The Council stressed the importance of cooperation with third countries and further developing partnerships that create real opportunities for people in their home countries and strengthen migration management," it added.
Albanian model
In October 2024, Italy completed the construction of migrant reception centers in the Albanian cities of Shenjin and Gjadra, which were agreed upon under a 2023 bilateral agreement with Tirana, with the aim of processing asylum applications outside the EU and implementing the rapid return of rejected applicants (repatriation).
However, the project has not yet had any effect. Although initial estimates predicted that the centers could hold up to 3.000 people per month, with a high rate of human flow, only a few hundred migrants have passed through them since they opened, and the number of repatriations has been limited.
Deutsche Welle reported at the end of February last year that migrants who came to the centers were eventually returned to Italy, because the Court of Appeal in Rome ruled that they could not be detained in Albania until the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg decides whether the asylum seekers' countries of origin are safe for repatriation, or whether their asylum applications can be rejected.
Piantedozi, writes "Il Sole 24 Ore", has said in recent weeks that the government's goal in Rome is to have the centers in Albania operating at full capacity by the end of the year, explaining that the plan is "to have the centers back in operation at full capacity by the end of the year, or even earlier if legal problems and court processes are resolved."
Spajić has already "rejected" migrants from Great Britain
Prime Minister Spajić has already announced once, in October last year, that Montenegro will not accept migrants from other countries.
The British "Times" wrote at the time that Spajić, speaking on a panel with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in London, said that Montenegro was not in negotiations with the United Kingdom about establishing a center for the reception and return of migrants.
After Rama asked him whether Montenegro would be open to the idea if Britain offered to invest in its transport infrastructure, Spajić replied: “Yes, I would definitely accept it if they invested 10 billion euros in railway construction.”
However, a clarification soon came from the Prime Minister's office "that Montenegro will not, at any cost, accept migrants from Great Britain."
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