The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic has said that his country and Italy have joined a group of 19 EU member states who are writing to the European Commission seeking that asylum applications be processed outside the region.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni are part of the informal group show which are looking to go “beyond the EU’s migration pact” with an approach that appears to mirror the UK’s so-called ‘Rwanda law’, where asylum applicants will be sent to the African country for processing, but with important distinctions.
Under Britain’s Rwanda law, migrants would be accommodated in the country’s capital Kigali, while their claims for asylum were processed, but if successful they would be offered permanent residency in Rwanda and not allowed to return to the United Kingdom. The EU members writing to the EU Commission are seeking processing systems in African states but, it s understood, not a bar on entry if an asylum application is accepted.
Following talks on Monday, the two conservative leaders held a press conference saying the countries involved “want to find a real solution to illegal migration”.
“Italy has a very important role to play. The Czech Republic and Italy are among the countries that want to go beyond where the migration pact has taken us and want to find a real solution to illegal migration, which we do not yet have in Europe,” Mr Fiala said.
Ms Meloni said: “We agree that to manage migration the priority is to work on externalisation; therefore, to work with third countries, to prevent the flow rather than having to manage it.”
“Italy is setting a good example with the Mattei Plan for Africa, which aims to build a new model of development and cooperation compared to the past,” she said, in a reference to what EU Activ described as the Italian government’s €5.5 billion plan to foster economic development in Africa, stimulate growth to reduce irregular migration to Europe, and position Italy as an energy hub for transporting natural gas supplies from Africa to Europe.
Italy was also the first EU country to sign a pact with Albania which allows offshore processing of asylum claims for migrants who are intercepted at sea trying to reach Italy.
Rome will cover the costs of two detention centres in Albania: if an applicants claim is successful, they will be resettled in Italy; if it fails, Rome will arrange their deportation to their home countries.
“The Italian cooperation with Albania is an example of a model that we can try and then expand. This is one way of dealing with illegal migration,” Mr Fiala said.
The group of 19 countries – which includes Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and the three Baltic states – will send a letter to the EU Commission on Wednesday to say expected to say the bloc should sign deals with non-members, such as states in Africa, to process asylum seekers.
British government sources told the Telegraph that the demand showed other countries were looking to Britain’s example in cracking down on illegal migration.
However, it is understood that in the proposed letter, the 19 countries will underline their commitment to European human rights law.
The move comes as a surge in asylum applications and illegal immigration has left EU member states struggling to manage the crisis.