This year, Italy has already received almost 150,000 immigrants who entered the country illegally.
Italy came up with an extraordinary way to solve its migrant crisis. It will establish two reception centers in Albania.
The countries have agreed on the construction of reception centers the other week. The project has EU approval.
Italy plans to place in centers those who came illegally across the Mediterranean to wait for the asylum application to be processed. Italy has received just under 150,000 people who came across the sea illegally this year, compared to 94,000 at the same time last year.
The centers are scheduled to be commissioned next spring.
One of the centers will be built in the port of Shëngjin, where ships will bring migrants picked up from the Mediterranean to identify them and start the asylum application process.
Another is to be built in the interior of Albania, where asylum seekers await accelerated processing. Women and children are not placed in the centers.
Italy is responsible for the construction and operating costs. The preliminary price tag is 16.5 million euros.
The centers have Italian staff
The centers will have Italian staff and operate according to Italian laws. They could hold a maximum of 3,000 people at a time.
Italian prime minister by Giorgia Meloni according to Italy could process up to 36,000 people per year through the centers. The amount depends on how quickly the authorities process the applications. Italy aims to have decisions made in 28 days.
Only people rescued by the Italian maritime and border guards are to be brought to Albania. The ships of smugglers or human rights organizations have no business in Shëngjin port.
Italy has promised Albania that the asylum seekers will not stay permanently in Albania. Those who get a positive decision can go to Italy. Albania who received a negative decision can be returned to the country of origin.
Preliminary green light from the EU
It is unclear how repatriation would work.
Italy itself has only been able to return four thousand people who received a negative asylum decision this year. The countries of origin and often also the home countries of the applicants have a tight-lipped attitude towards return.
Albania has a freer hand to deal with returns because it is not a member of the EU.
– Our legal team’s preliminary assessment is that this does not violate EU law. This is an activity outside EU law, EU Commissioner for Migration Ylva Johansson said last week.
The parliaments discuss the agreement
According to Italy, the agreement with Albania for the temporary placement of asylum seekers in Albania is in accordance with international agreements.
– The processing of asylum applications has not been outsourced to a third country. And internationally guaranteed rights are not deviated from, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in Parliament on Tuesday.
The Italian government is seeking parliamentary support for the arrangement, even though according to news agencies it does not need it. Due to the exceptional nature of the project, Parliament is allowed to have its say on it.
In Albania, too, the parliament will vote on the entry into force of the agreement.
Italy has promised to protect Albania against possible legal action against the arrangement.
A lot of criticism for the organized
Italy’s agreement with Albania is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government’s menu of tools to show voters it is living up to its election promises and fighting immigration.
Human rights organizations have criticized the agreement.
– The implementation of the agreement is very questionable. In our opinion, it should be cancelled, said the representative of the Italian branch of Amnesty International Serena Chiodo For the Italian public broadcaster RAI.
The agreement has been compared to the agreement made by the British government with Rwanda. According to the agreement, Britain was supposed to fly migrants crossing the Channel illegally to the Central African country for the duration of their asylum process.
The British Supreme Court ruled last week that the agreement cannot be implemented. It considered that Rwanda cannot be considered a safe country to send migrants to.
According to Italy, the agreement between Britain and Rwanda cannot be compared to the agreement with Albania, because it does not outsource the asylum application process to a third country.
AFP, Reuters