Italian Senate approves migration deal with Albania Why has Russia developed an anti-satellite weapon?

A controversial migration treaty between Italy and Albania has cleared its final parliamentary hurdle. The Senate in Rome approved a bill for ratification on Thursday, essentially paving the way for the deal.

The aim is to combat irregular migration across the Mediterranean, from Africa to Europe. In concrete terms, two reception centers for migrants will be built in Albania. According to the plans, people will be brought there who have been taken on board by the Italian authorities on the high seas. Their asylum claims are then examined in the centers operated by Italy and, if necessary, a rapid return is made possible.

The initial recording will use a center in the Adriatic port city of Shengjin. The first medical examinations and the first tests will take place there. From there, people are then taken to the center in Gjader, which has room for around 3,000 people. Italy manages the centers and is responsible for safety there. Albania is supporting the authorities with external security, Italian media report.

Italy’s Chamber of Deputies – the larger of the two parliamentary chambers – approved the deal three weeks ago. It is based on a memorandum of understanding signed in November between ultra-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Parliament’s approval is still lacking in Albania. Although there is no date yet for the vote, approval is expected because Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Social Democratic Party has a majority there. At the end of January, the Constitutional Court in Tirana gave the plan the green light and rejected the objections of thirty parliamentarians. (saw/sda/dpa)