Asylum centers in Albania: Meloni wants refugees behind the Italian border

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (46) is changing migration policy. Facility camps will now be built in Albania. The facilities in Albania must accommodate 3,000 people. The people rescued from the Mediterranean must then be brought across the border.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama (59) signed a corresponding declaration of intent in Rome on Monday. Asylum applications should be examined in reception centers and, if necessary, a faster return should be made possible. The aim is to to limit irregular migration across the Mediterranean, from North Africa to Europe.

“Up to 3,000 people will be housed in these centers – until the procedures for processing asylum applications can be completed quickly – and of course also with a view to repatriation,” Meloni explained on Monday.

The agreement is aimed exclusively at migrants traveling to Italy on boats across the central Mediterranean, Meloni told Il Messaggero newspaper on Tuesday. After being rescued on the high seas, they must be immediately taken to Albanian centers. The agreement therefore does not apply to minors and pregnant women.

No possibility of independent verification

Asylum applications must be processed more quickly and those affected must be returned to their home countries more quickly if their applications are rejected. The left-wing opposition Meloni on X proposes creating a kind of ‘Italian Guantanamo’ outside the European Union. There is no way to independently verify the detention status of the refugees being hosted. The agreement appears to be contrary to international and European law, says Social Democratic opposition politician Elly Schlein (38).

The centers should therefore be managed by Italy and be operational as early as next year. Albania will assist in monitoring the facilities.

According to Meloni, the agreement between Italy and Albania could be a model for similar agreements with other countries. “I even believe that it can become a model for cooperation between EU countries and non-EU countries in managing migration flows,” Meloni said.

Meloni hopes the centers will be operational by 2024. According to the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, more than 144,700 people have already arrived by boat this year. In the same period last year there were approximately 87,300. (jwg/SDA)

Source: Blick