The conservative prime minister of North Macedonia has denied press reports claiming camps will be built in the country to accommodate migrants hailing from the United Kingdom as part of an alleged agreement between Skopje and London.
The Prime Minister of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski has stated that no camps will be built in the country to host migrants hailing from the United Kingdom, among others.
Speaking to reporters on December 9, Mickoski said the issue was never discussed with British authorities, firmly denying press reports concerning an alleged agreement with the British government in London over asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.
"There will not be even a tent for illegal migrants in North Macedonia while I am prime minister, and we will not be hosting any migrants," he said.
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Opposition leader calls for 'national mobilization'
The premier highlighted that the fight against irregular migration is a key point in the political platform of his party, Vmro-Dpmne which stands for the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization – Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity.
For his part, the leader of the opposition Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, Venko Filipče, announced an online petition and a national mobilization against potentially hosting migrants in the country.
According to Filipče, his party has already warned about the existence of possible secret negotiations between the Macedonian government and the United Kingdom, which were first reported by British media outlets.
The reports mentioned a possible plan worked out by the British government in London to transfer to North Macedonia irregular migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected by British authorities in exchange for an economic compensation of 20,000 pounds for each deported person.
Filipče claimed such policies could cause a rise in crime, violence and social disorder.
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Macedonian media reports and Russsian influence
Macedonian media reports on December 9 spoke about alleged negotiations between British intelligence services, Premier Keir Starmer and authorities in Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the creation of deportations hubs in those countries.
The media outlets also highlighted the alleged concerns expressed by British security services, according to which the move would be risky considering the strong Russian influence in the region, especially in Serbia.
The British prime minister, according to intelligence sources quoted by media in the North Macedonian capital Skopje, is allegedly promoting the plans to create "repatriation centers" in the western Balkans, despite the concern expressed by intelligence agencies that such facilities could be exploited by Russian agents.
The region, in fact, is not deemed safe for deportation programs due to its proximity and vulnerability to Russian influence.
Starmer's plans, according to Macedonian media reports, would provide for the creation of sensitive national infrastructures and operational structures in what is described as "Russia's sphere of influence," where agents pursuing the Kremlin's interests could infiltrate and target these facilities, with migrants sent to the region becoming a potential target or tool of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A 'new Rwanda' plan?
Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are included in a list of some nine countries considered as potential destinations of rejected asylum seekers once they become unable to appeal the decision in the United Kingdom.
Albania has also been reportedly considered as a destination, but Premier Edi Rama allegedly refused the proposal this month, and has also rejected similar proposals in the past, saying his agreement with Italy will remain unique, because of the special relationship between the two countries.
The project to create repatriation centers in the Balkans, local media also reported, was formerly halted by Britain's MI6 secret intelligence service in 2022, when the previous conservative government was drafting a list of countries for a deportation program similar to the Rwanda plan. According to an official involved in those plans, the list of potential locations at the time included Albania and Moldova.