Europe
Explainer: How does Italy's migration deal with
Albania work?
By Crispian
Balmer
June 5,
20245:17 PM GMT+2Updated 10 days ago
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-does-italys-migration-deal-with-albania-work-2024-06-05/
ROME, June
5 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited Albania on
Wednesday, where her government plans to build reception camps to house
thousands of migrants picked up at sea.
Looking to
curb migration to Italy, Meloni signed a deal with Albania last year to send
some asylum-seekers to the Balkan country and process the asylum requests
there.
Here are
some facts about the plan.
WHAT IS IN
THE DEAL?
The accord,
agreed for an initial five years, foresees disembarking 36,000 migrants a year
at the Albanian port of Shengjin, about 75 km (45 miles) south of the country's
capital, Tirana. Their cases will be processed at a centre being built at a
nearby air base in Gjader, which can hold 3,000 people.
Both
facilities will be staffed by Italian personnel and will operate under Italian
jurisdiction. However, outside security will be provided by Albanian guards.
CAN ANY
MIGRANT GET SENT TO ALBANIA?
No. Only
those migrants who come from countries that Italy deems safe will be able to be
processed in Albania. At present there are 21 such countries, recently
increased from 15, including Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia. Last
year, 56,588 migrants arrived in Italy from those four nations.
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Meloni has
said that pregnant women, minors and other vulnerable people would not be sent
to Albania.
HOW MUCH
WILL IT COST?
Meloni said
on Wednesday that the scheme would cost 670 million euros ($729 million) over
five years - 7.5% of what Italy currently spends on its migrant reception
centres.
HOW WILL IT
WORK?
The idea is
that selected migrants will be sent directly to Albania after they are picked
up at sea. Meloni has said officials will endeavour to examine asylum requests
within 28 days, much quicker than the months it currently takes in Italy.
.Anyone
whose request is accepted will be brought to Italy.
The vast
majority of requests are expected to be rejected, because the countries the
migrants come from are considered safe, which automatically limits the scope
for asylum to be granted. Those whose requests are turned down will be detained
ahead of their eventual repatriation.
However,
this process is very slow because some countries refuse to take back their
citizens or impose limited numbers for returnees. There is a possibility that
the centre in Albania will rapidly fill with migrants waiting to be returned
home.
It has
still not been established whether those awaiting a final decision on their
refugee status will be able to leave the centres. Many migrants in Italy vanish
from reception centres and disperse around Europe, living under the radar.
WHEN WILL
IT START?
It was
meant to start this month, but the buildings are not yet complete. Meloni said
the two centres would be operational from Aug. 1, but added that Gjader would
not be able to take the planned full quota of 3,000 immediately.
WHAT DOES
ITALY GET OUT OF THE DEAL?
Italian
officials have said the deal could help relieve overcrowding at processing
centres in Italy. Meloni also said on Wednesday it would prove an
"extraordinary deterrence" for those thinking of coming to Italy.
Albania is not a member of the European Union, it is a poor country and does
not offer easy access to the wealthy north of Europe.
WHAT DOES
ALBANIA GET OUT OF THE DEAL?
By helping
out Meloni, the government in Tirana is securing her support as it pushes to
become an EU member. It is also showing the rest of Europe that is willing to
help the 27-nation bloc deal with one of its most intractable problems of
recent years. Ordinary Albanians have also said it is a way of thanking Italy,
which took in many thousands of Albanians fleeing poverty after the fall of
communism in 1991.
HOW DOES IT
DIFFER FROM BRITAIN'S DEAL WITH RWANDA?
Britain
wants to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, but it is a very different plan from
Italy's initiative. One key difference is that migrants sent to Rwanda will
need to stay in the central African country even if they win refugee status.
Another difference is that, unlike Rwanda, those sent to Albania will be
protected by the European Convention on Human Rights.
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