On May 23, 2024—amid headlines dominated by the upcoming European elections—Copenhagen and Pristina finalized an agreement to transfer non-Danish foreign prisoners serving sentences in Denmark to a facility in Kosovo. Under the deal, 300 inmates will be moved to a renovated prison in the city of Gjilan, with Denmark committing €200 million to Kosovo over the next decade.
The Gjilan facility is currently undergoing a €5 million renovation and is expected to receive its first prisoners in 2026. Those convicted of terrorism or serving life sentences will not be eligible for transfer. Denmark had previously explored similar deals with North Macedonia and Albania.
“We have an agreement with Denmark, which has not yet been implemented because it is in the preparation phase regarding infrastructure and the required training. Denmark is one of Kosovo’s partners and the agreement provides reciprocal benefits for us. I know that the issue is attractive within the EU, mainly for migrants, but for now we are not in discussions with another member state,” Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kresnik Ahmeti recently told To Vima on the sidelines of the the Delphi Economic Forum.
Denmark is not alone in pursuing such policies, which have faced criticism from lawyers and human rights organizations. Belgium’s right-wing coalition, led by nationalist Prime Minister Bart De Vives, is also exploring a similar arrangement with Kosovo.
In late March, Belgian Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden stated that transferring third-country prisoners from Belgian to Kosovar prisons was highly likely, with the government planning to invest €202 million over ten years. Belgian prisons currently hold 13,000 inmates—2,000 more than their intended capacity.
Belgium already maintains a longstanding agreement with Morocco, dating back to 1999, for the transfer of Moroccan nationals serving sentences in Belgium. In 2022, Moroccans accounted for 7.9% of the prison population.
In September, the Netherlands announced plans to transfer 500 third-country nationals convicted in Dutch courts to prisons in Estonia, as the Baltic country’s prisons “are half empty.” The plan, set for 2026, mirrors broader regional efforts to outsource incarceration.
The United Kingdom is also reportedly considering Estonia as a destination for inmates, given record numbers in English and Welsh prisons. The Labour government under Keir Starmer denies pursuing such a policy, calling it a holdover from the previous Conservative administration. Estonia estimates that it could earn up to 30 million euros a year by “renting space” in its prisons for foreign prisoners, although, as Justice Minister Lisa Pakosta admits, it is not the best advertisement for the country.
In Sweden, where gang violence has driven up crime rates, the government of Ulf Kristersson concluded a two-year investigation and announced that there are no legal barriers to outsourcing incarceration. The measure will not only concern prisoners from third countries but also Swedish nationals, though the prisons that will accept them must be located in EU countries. The Swedish government intends to proceed with talks with other EU partners, with the aim of either signing bilateral agreements or renting space in their prisons.
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin recently addressed France’s own prison overecrowding in an interview with Le Journal du Dimanche. France currently detains 82,000 individuals in facilities built for 62,000. Nearly a quarter—19,000 inmates—are nationals of non-EU countries.
Darmanin argued that transferring foreign prisoners to their countries of origin could significantly ease overcrowding. However, he admitted that France has not effectively negotiated such agreements, citing the France-Morocco prisoner transfer deal as an example. That agreement requires the inmate’s consent for repatriation—something which rarely happens. In contrast, Belgium’s agreement with Morocco does not require prisoner consent.
Italy is the only EU country so far to have signed a third-country agreement not focused on prisoner transfers, but on migrant detention. In March 2024, Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government announced a revival and expansion of the 2023 Rome-Tirana agreement with Albania, allowing migrants rescued at sea to be detained in Albanian facilities. Previous implementation efforts had stalled after Italian courts blocked migrant transfers.
