Italy Approves Safe Countries List and Adds Arab Nations in Preparation for Migrant Returns
The Italian Council of Ministers has approved the list of safe countries of origin and added Arab nations to it.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that the Council of Ministers had approved the list, with the addition of Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
During a press conference on Friday, Tajani confirmed that there are no significant changes or differences in the report compared to last year.
He explained that the list includes Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Morocco, Montenegro, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.
He also noted that the decision will be referred to the Italian Parliament for review and approval. However, Tajani did not provide further details regarding the expected timeline for discussions.
Returning Irregular Migrants to Their Countries
In a related context, Italian Minister for European Affairs Tommaso Foti discussed with EU Commissioner for Migration and Asylum Magnus Brunner ways to enhance European cooperation on migration issues, according to the Italian minister’s statement.
Foti explained that Italy supports establishing an effective European system for returning irregular migrants to their home countries, praising the Italian-Albanian agreement as a model to follow.
He also called for the possibility of returning migrants to third safe countries and opening joint European centers to manage migration issues in a coordinated manner.
