Italy proposes migrant centres outside the EU — what it could mean for North Macedonia
Rome wants EU members to be able to place migrants in centres located outside the Union; North Macedonia could be affected as a non‑EU country on a key migration route.
Published: 04 August, 2026 10:13
Italy proposes migrant centres outside the EU — what the plan would do
Italy intends to propose that the European Union allow member states to open migrant reception centres in non-EU countries, following the model of an agreement between Rome and Albania. Under the plan, people who do not have the right to remain in the EU would be transferred to those centres while authorities arrange returns to their country of origin or relocation to another safe country.
European institutions have already reached a preliminary arrangement that would permit member states to sign such agreements with third countries. That framework would create a legal basis for bilateral deals similar to the Italy–Albania arrangement.
The proposal again raises the question of whether part of the migration burden could be shifted to Western Balkan countries. North Macedonia is not an EU member and lies on one of the main migration routes toward the Union, so EU migration policies and new arrangements could have direct effects on its border management and the flow of people through its territory.
So far there is no information that North Macedonia has been proposed as a host for such a centre. Any transfer of migrants to the country would be possible only through a specific agreement and with the consent of Macedonian authorities.
The Italian model in Albania has already met legal challenges and criticism concerning the rights and living conditions of migrants. Nonetheless, several other European states are reportedly considering similar external centres, and the idea remains under active discussion in Brussels and in capitals across the Union.
Photo: press material from the event
