“When Italy calls, we are there,” Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in Rome at a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. And this in turn spoke of a “historic, innovative pact” between the two neighboring Adriatic countries. How historic and, above all, how innovative the new agreement between Rome and Tirana will really be remains to be seen – the announcement was certainly surprising.
The socialist Rama and the post-fascist Meloni kept the plans secret until the end; Neither the Italian nor the Albanian parliament, which has yet to ratify the pact, had been informed of the plans for this questionable outsourcing of migrants.
In concrete terms, Meloni and Rama have agreed that Italy can build and operate two large asylum centers with a total of 3,000 places on Albanian territory. Only migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the Italian coast guard or by financial police vessels are allowed to be taken to the two camps. Underage asylum seekers, pregnant women and vulnerable people must be brought to Italy. The selection is already being carried out on the rescue ships.
The centers are expected to open their doors in March
The private rescuers will be able to continue bringing the migrants to Italy, albeit, as usual, in ports as far away as possible from the central Mediterranean, so that the rescue work of the NGO ships, which is not welcomed by the Italian right-wing government is still made very difficult.
A first camp will be built in the Albanian port city of Shengjin; it will serve as an initial reception center where refugees will be identified and registered by Italian officials. The second camp will be built in the town of Gjader, about 20 kilometers away; Migrants should be able to apply for asylum at this facility and, if rejected, be interned until deported.
Both centers will fall under Italian jurisdiction; An extraterritorial status is being considered for the camps, for example for foreign embassies. Albania should be involved in the external surveillance of the camps; However, both Meloni and Rami assured that the operating costs will be fully borne by Italy. The centers are expected to start operations in March next year.
Albania doesn’t want money
Prime Minister Rami sincerely assured Rome that there would be no financial compensation from Rome to Albania for the provision of its territory. Albania does this solely out of gratitude and friendship towards Italy, which also generously supported Albania in the 1990s, when tens of thousands of Albanian citizens fled poverty in their country across the Adriatic Sea to Apulia, never asking for anything in return.
It is about giving Italy “some breathing space in a difficult situation,” Rami emphasized in Rome, referring to the 145,000 boat people who have landed in Italy since the beginning of this year. Giorgia Meloni, in turn, stated that Albania would receive support in Brussels in the EU accession negotiations.
Meloni explained that her government’s shortened asylum procedure of up to 28 days will allow more than 3,000 migrants to be brought to Albania every year: she assumes a maximum of 39,000 people. How realistic this is remains to be seen. Even if the asylum procedures in Albania were actually completed in four weeks – which is doubtful – experience shows that the deportation of the rejected asylum seekers will take much more time.
Are the rights of refugees respected?
This is simply because Italy only has corresponding agreements with four countries of origin and these agreements only allow for a very small number of returnees. In total, Italy has been able to carry out only 3,000 to 5,000 deportations per year in recent years. It is not clear why this should suddenly change thanks to the deal with Albania.
Although the pact looks more like a theatrical coup by Meloni and is unlikely to bring any real relief to Italy in dealing with the influx of migrants, the Italian opposition was shocked by the plans. The centrist party +Europe spoke of an ‘Italian Guantanamo’, while Peppe Provenzano of the Social Democratic PD explained that the pact was at best a legal failure and at worst would lead to a serious violation of the rights of refugees . .
The agreement was also criticized in Albania. There was even talk of “betrayal of Albania”. A European Commission spokesperson said the Commission had been informed of the plans by Italy, but details were still lacking. “It is important that the agreement fully respects European and international law,” the spokesperson warned. (bzbasel.ch)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
