Forssell met Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi in Rome on Wednesday to primarily discuss the agreement that Italy has with Albania regarding hosting migrants and asylum seekers there, instead of on Italian soil.
A similar solution may become relevant for Sweden as well – at least when it comes to handling individuals who are to be deported. Forssell does not rule out that the Italian centers may also be used by Sweden.
If they (the Italians) are interested in it and have the possibility to let more countries join, it's clear that it can be interesting for Sweden, Forssell tells TT over the phone.
The Italian centers have been in a legal limbo, pending court proceedings on which migrants and asylum seekers can actually be sent there.
Meanwhile, Italy has opened up to using the centers as "return hubs" in the meantime, where individuals who are to be deported can be gathered, but for various reasons have not yet been able or willing to be taken back to their home countries.
Here, Sweden sees an opportunity to already soon be able to transfer deportees.
But it depends a bit on the Italian capacity, how many places they have, how many return cases they themselves have and what could be available. This is something we will follow up, says Forssell in Italy.
