Italy has announced its plan to address the surge in migration by constructing migrant reception centers in Albania. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni unveiled this new scheme as an effort to manage and decrease the increasing numbers of arrivals, which have nearly doubled in the past year alone.
The proposed Albanian centers are set to open in the spring of 2024 and initially accommodate around 3,000 migrants. The Italian government aims to eventually increase their capacity to process up to 36,000 migrants annually. This initiative comes as more than 145,000 people have arrived in Italy by sea thus far in 2023, compared to approximately 88,000 during the same period the previous year.
The administration led by Prime Minister Meloni has already introduced stricter penalties for human smugglers and authorized the establishment of additional detention facilities across Italy for the temporary holding of migrants pending possible repatriation.
While her party, the hard-right Brothers of Italy, has previously advocated for centers to be located outside of the European Union, particularly in North Africa, no country in that region had agreed to the proposal. Meloni considers the collaboration with Albania as a European agreement that demonstrates the possibility of joint efforts in managing migratory flows.
The migrants hosted in these Albanian centers will undergo a fast-track process for asylum applications and, if necessary, repatriation. Special consideration will be given to vulnerable groups such as minors, pregnant women, and others, who will not be transferred to Albania. Currently, specific details regarding the project, including its cost, have not been disclosed.
According to a source in Meloni's office, the agreement will only apply to migrants rescued at sea by the Italian coastguard or navy, excluding those rescued by charitable organizations. The source also denied any claims that Italy would be providing financial compensation to Albania for hosting the centers.
Meloni further announced Italy's plan to construct a migrant identification facility in the Albanian port of Shëngjin, along with an inland repatriation center. Both facilities will operate under Italian jurisdiction. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama expressed his country's commitment to helping Italy, emphasizing their close relationship as neighboring nations with intertwined histories.
Official data reveals that the majority of migrants arriving in Italy in 2023 originate from countries such as Guinea, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia.
Italy's approach mirrors the British government's attempt to relocate thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda, which has faced legal challenges since its implementation.
Critics argue that this plan is overly repressive, highlighting the limited personal freedom afforded to non-European Union citizens due to their lower-category status as foreign nationals. Maurizio Veglio, an immigration law expert and lawyer, expressed concerns regarding this aspect of the new scheme.