Premier Giorgia Meloni on
Thursday took part in a meeting of countries interested in
"innovative" solutions to the issue of illegal migrant arrivals,
such as Italy's agreement to set up migrant centres in Albania,
on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels. "On the margins
of the European Council, the President of the Council of
Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, together with the Danish Prime
Minister, Mette Frederiksen, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Dick
Schoof, held another informal meeting this morning with some of
the Member States that have the most interest in innovative
solutions for the management of migration, and in particular the
strengthening of the legal framework regarding returns," the
Italian premier's office said in a statement. "In addition to
Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and the European Commission, the
meeting was also attended by the leaders of Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Greece, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Sweden. "European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the main
areas of work indicated in the letter on migration dated 16
December, focusing on the proposal for a new legal framework for
returns which the Commission plans to present in the first
months of 2025. "In addition to supporting a swift presentation
and finalisation of the new legislative proposal, President
Meloni highlighted the importance of innovative solutions in
countering irregular migration, especially to break the
'business model' of human traffickers and, at the same time,
allow reception efforts by the European Union to be focused on
those who have a genuine right to international protection. "The
leaders' discussion focused on the need for an increasingly
clear and effective European regulatory framework, in particular
with a strengthening of the 'safe country of origin' and 'safe
third country' concepts in order to support innovative
solutions, starting with the Italy-Albania model and the
possible creation of 'returns hubs' in third countries. There
was also particular interest around the strengthening of
Europe's actions along migration routes with the UNHCR and IOM
regarding assisted voluntary returns. "The leaders present
expressed their appreciation both for President von der Leyen's
letter and for the operational focus of the Conclusions on
migration to be approved by today's European Council meeting.
They agreed to continue maintaining close coordination with the
aim of strengthening the European Union's migration policy and
making it more and more effective".
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