Italy Ships Asylum Seekers. The first people to be intercepted at sea by the Italian navy under a controversial migration deal with Albania are on their way to the Balkan nation to have their asylum claims processed.
The Mechanics of the Italy-Albania Migration Pact
The agreement outlines a selective process for asylum seekers:
- Only men from countries deemed “safe” by Italy are sent to Albania
- Women, children, and men with illnesses or signs of torture are taken to Lampedusa, Italy
- Three new facilities in Albania will host and process the asylum seekers:
- A centre for 880 asylum seekers
- A pre-deportation centre with 144 places
- A small prison with 20 places
Italy will operate these facilities under Italian jurisdiction, with Albanian guards providing external security. The deal aims to expedite asylum processing to 28 days faster than current Italian timeframes.
As part of the pact signed off on by Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, a navy ship set off on Monday “with some irregular migrants onboard”, the interior ministry confirmed. The ministry did not provide a precise figure.
It is understood that all the people taken to Albania were men who were part of a group trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe.
Women, children and any men with illnesses or who showed signs of torture were instead taken to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa after screening was carried out to establish who in the group met the requirements of the deal – men originating from countries that are deemed safe, Italian media reported.
International Reactions and Concerns, Italy Ships Asylum Seekers.
When they disembark at the port of Schëngjin, the men will undergo more in-depth screening. Then, they will be taken to a centre at a former Albanian Air Force site in Gjadër, where they will be held while waiting for their asylum applications to be processed.
As part of the Italy-funded deal, three facilities were formally opened in Albania last week: a centre with a capacity to host 880 asylum seekers, a pre-deportation centre known as a CPR with 144 places, and a small prison with 20 places.
The pact, which human rights associations say breaches international law but which the EU has tacitly endorsed, was signed by Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, in November last year.
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Meloni said at the time that in exchange for Rami’s backing for the centres, she would do everything in her power to support Albania’s accession to the EU.
The deal will cost Italy €670m (£560m) over five years. Italy will run the facilities, which will fall under Italian jurisdiction. Albanian guards will provide external security.
Meloni has emphasised the urgency of the asylum processing, stating that officials will strive to process requests within 28 days, a significantly shorter period than the months it currently takes in Italy. Albania will only process the applications of people from countries designated as “safe” by Italy, a recently expanded list from 15 nations to 21. The updated list includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia. In the previous year, 56,588 people from those countries went to Italy.
The vast majority of requests are expected to be rejected because the countries the applicants come from are considered safe, which automatically limits the scope for asylum to be granted. This potential rejection raises concerns about the fate of those whose requests are turned down, as they will be detained before their eventual repatriation.
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, faced criticism from human rights groups and his Labour Party backbenchers after expressing “great interest” in the migration pact during a meeting with Meloni in Rome last week. His vow to send £4m to support her crackdown on irregular migration added fuel to the controversy.
Meloni once said Italy should repatriate migrants and then “sink the boats that rescued them”. In the past, she also called for a naval blockade in North Africa. Italy Ships Asylum Seekers.
