Migration agreement with Italy: the Albanian Parliament gives its final green light
This Thursday, February 22, the Albanian Parliament gave its final green light to a migration agreement with Italy.
The text paving the way for the construction of two reception centers for migrants rescued in Italian waters was adopted at final reading.
Ms. Meloni (our illustration photo), elected on an anti-migrant program, is seeking by all means to reduce the number of arrivals of foreigners in Italy, which has exploded since she took office.
AFP - ANDREAS SOLARO
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Under the agreement, Albania
will
be able to accommodate around 3,000 people at a time in these centers, financed by
Italy
.
One of them will be used to register asylum seekers, and in the other migrants will be housed while awaiting a response to their request.
The text was voted on by 77 deputies out of the 140 in Parliament.
Managed by Rome
Both centers will be managed by Rome on the territory of a country that is not part of the European Union (EU) but aspires to join it.
Referring to this agreement shortly before the Albanian vote, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni indicated that 36,000 migrants per year could pass through the Albanian camps, but that the achievement of this objective depended on the speed with which Italy could process asylum applications.
For the Albanian opposition, this agreement constitutes a renunciation of territorial sovereignty.
The right also accuses the government of socialist Edi Rama of endangering “
national security
”.
Expenses for the construction of the two centers and the infrastructure necessary for their operation, security and medical care for asylum seekers will be covered 100% by the Italian side, say the Albanian authorities.
Italian jurisdiction
The Italian authorities will also be responsible for maintaining order in the centers, with the Albanian police being responsible outside and during the “
transport of migrants from one area to another
”.
The camps will operate under Italian jurisdiction and are expected to open in spring 2024. Their cost is estimated between 650 and 750 million euros over five years.
Nearly 158,000 migrants arrived in Italy in 2023 compared to around 105,000 in 2022, according to figures from the Interior Ministry.
(
With AFP
)
Also read: The Albanian Constitutional Court validates the migration agreement with Italy
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