Migrants rescued at sea who attempt to reach Italy will be transported to Albania starting tomorrow while their asylum applications are processed, according to a controversial agreement in which Albania will host thousands of asylum seekers on behalf of Italy.
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| Meloni and Rama exchange protocol notebooks after the signing of the Italy-Albania agreement on immigrants |
Speaking during a visit to Albania in June, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that the two centers created to house the migrants would be ready to accommodate the first 1,000 people by August 1st. As this date approaches, construction work is still ongoing in one of the camps, according to the Washington Post. Neither Italy nor Albania has indicated when the first migrants are likely to arrive.
The five-year agreement, signed by Meloni and Prime Minister Edi Rama last November, provides for the accommodation of up to 3,000 migrants rescued by the Italian coast guard in international waters each month. They will initially be screened aboard the ships that rescued them, before being sent to Albania for further checks.
The centers will only house adult men, the Italian ambassador to Albania, Fabrizio Bucci, told the Associated Press. People considered vulnerable – women, children, the elderly, and those who are sick or victims of torture – will be housed in Italy. Families will also not be separated, the ambassador said.
Those sent to Albania will retain their right under international and European Union law to apply for asylum in Italy and have their claims processed there, but their movement in and out of the centers in Albania will be restricted.
With each application taking about a month to process, the number of people sent to Albania could reach 36,000 in a year. Italy has agreed to accept those who are granted asylum. Those whose applications are rejected will face direct deportation from Albania, the ambassador said.
Approved by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as an example of "thinking outside the box" in addressing the issue of migration in the European Union, the agreement has been criticized by human rights groups as a dangerous precedent.
"The International Rescue Committee (IRC) highlights the risks associated with the scheme and calls on the EU and its member states not to use this dangerous model as a plan for their asylum and migration approaches," the humanitarian organization said in a July 23 statement. Earlier this year, the IRC had described the agreement as "expensive, cruel, and counterproductive."