The agreement reached this month by Italy with Albania to build centers for migrants coming ashore by sea could serve as a plan for other EU countries, said on Friday the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

“I think this can be an example that other countries can follow, especially if it works well,” Meloni said through an interpreter during a visit to Croatia, Reuters writes.

Earlier this month, Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced a new scheme for Italy to try to reduce the number of migrants by building two centers that will initially house around 3,000 people after they open in the spring of 2024.

The plan was immediately criticized by experts and human rights activists as legally complicated and requiring lengthy procedures that could place an unjustified burden on immigrants.

On Wednesday, EU migration commissioner Ylva Johansson said the Italian-Albanian agreement on the reception camps did not breach EU law, which was not applicable.

“As for our agreement with Albania, I think it is a very innovative and very smart agreement, awaited with great interest by other European partners,” Meloni told reporters during her visit to the Croatian capital Zagreb.