Armenia Removed from the List of Countries Considered for Migrant Relocation

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera has today, August 4, published an updated list of countries proposed for the relocation of irregular migrants currently in the European Union. Armenia is no longer on the list.

On August 3, reports claiming that Italy had proposed relocating irregular migrants to Armenia sparked widespread discussion across the Armenian segment of social media.

An investigation by the Fact Investigation Platform showed that several Russian media outlets (1, 2, 3) – some of them as early as August 2 – reported that the European Union, at Italy’s initiative, was considering relocating irregular migrants to several countries, including Armenia, or establishing a migrant return hub there.

The claim was later reported by Euronews, which stated that Italy was preparing to propose the creation of migrant return hubs in safe third countries under the “Albanian model.” In Euronews’ report, Armenia was listed alongside several other countries as a potential candidate included in a provisional list.

One of the original sources of the information was an article published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which mentioned Armenia as one of 12 countries included in a preliminary list of potential host states. The newspaper reported that Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi was preparing to present, at the August 4 meeting, a proposal to establish new EU-funded return hubs based on the “Albanian model.”

One day later, on August 4, Corriere della Sera published updated information, reporting that the provisional list had been narrowed to three countries – Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana. According to the newspaper’s sources, these are the countries with which concrete negotiations have already begun regarding the establishment of the hubs, involving Italy, Germany, and Denmark. Armenia is not mentioned in the updated report.

In addition, during the extraordinary videoconference of EU interior ministers held on August 4, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi proposed the establishment of EU-funded return hubs and external asylum processing facilities in safe third countries. However, no potential host country was identified in the published text of his remarks.

As early as August 3, FIP.am had requested clarification on the issue from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. MFA spokesperson Ani Badalyan stated that no such matter had been discussed with Armenia.

The latest developments further indicate that Armenia was mentioned only in a broad preliminary list circulated in the media. There is no information suggesting that negotiations have taken place with Armenia or that the country has been included in the proposal presented by Italy. Moreover, according to Corriere della Sera’s updated report, practical negotiations are currently focused exclusively on three other countries – Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana.

Hasmik Hambardzumyan

Read also – No Plan to Relocate Migrants to Armenia: Tracing the Origins of the Claim