Italy not to become EU migrant collection centre -Piantedosi

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 9 - Italy is not to become a migrant collection centre on behalf of the European Union, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said Thursday evening after EU interior ministers reached a consensus on a deal to manage migrants and refugees arriving in the bloc.
    "Italy obtained consensus on all the proposals put forward at today's (Justice and Home Affairs) Council meeting" in Luxembourg, said Piantedosi.
    "First and foremost, we have averted the possibility that Italy and all member states of first entry would be paid to keep irregular migrants in their territories: Italy will not be the migrant collection centre on behalf of Europe," continued the minister in relation to a compromise proposal by the Swedish council presidency that member states refusing to take in migrants and asylum seekers arriving in first-line countries under a joint solidarity mechanism would have to pay 22,000 euros for every person not relocated.
    The option of cash compensation is "incompatible with the dignity of our country", said Piantedosi, adding that under the terms of the deal the monies would flow into a fund managed by the European Commission "to implement concrete projects for the so-called external dimension", namely the possibility of deporting rejected asylum seekers to safe third countries rather than their country of origin, which was one of the main sticking points for interior ministers and member states' permanent representatives to the EU trying to thrash out an accord.
    In this respect, Piantedosi said Italy had "managed to obtain a legal framework for possible arrangements with safe third countries and avoid restrictions that would have excluded some countries." "It is a compromise that does not damage the international legal framework," Pinatedosi pointed out, saying that it will be the individual member state that gets to decide with which countries to establish agreements.
    "It was a busy day," said the minister.
    "This is a place of mediation and we are satisfied. Today we obtained concrete solidarity from the European Union." (ANSA).