\n<\/p>\n
Italy, which receives the most migrant arrivals in the European Union, is partially outsourcing the challenge from today, as it opens the first of two planned camps in neighbouring Albania.<\/p>\n
The centres will be used to house up to 3000 migrants per month rescued en route to Italy as part of Europe\u2019s first “offshoring” scheme, while the continent grapples with how to respond to the challenge of irregular migration.<\/p>\n
The camp that opens today is located in the northern Albanian port of Shengjin. The opening of a second centre, on a former air force base in nearby Gjader, has been delayed.<\/p>\n
The structures will be entirely managed by the Italian government, which paid for their construction.<\/p>\n
They will be used for migrants picked up in international waters \u2013 though not women, children, or those deemed vulnerable.<\/p>\n
Once there, they will be allowed to request asylum in Italy. If refused, they will be sent back to countries deemed safe to return.<\/p>\n
\u201cItalian and European legislation will be applied in these centres,” Fabrizio Bucci, Italy\u2019s ambassador in Albania, told me. \u201cIt\u2019s like having a centre in Italy \u2013 but in Albania.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreement signed by the Italian and Albanian Prime Ministers will remain in place for five years \u2013 with the option to extend if it proves successful in reducing the migrant burden on Italy and deterring some from attempting to come. <\/p>\n
Arrivals in Italy by sea this year \u2013 around 31,000 so far \u2013 are down by more than half from the same period in 2023. <\/p>\n
Giorgia Meloni, the Italian Prime Minister, ran for office promising to clamp down hard on migration \u2013 and the Albania plan has become a key tenet of that.<\/p>\n
The hefty price tag, estimated at upwards of \u20ac650m (\u00a3547), is one of the criticisms levelled by Italian opposition politicians and human rights groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an excessive cost to detain a limited number of migrants\u201d, said Roberto Magi, an MP with the left-wing +Europa party. <\/p>\n
When Ms Meloni recently visited the site in Albania, he approached her car to protest \u2013 and was grabbed by Albanian security officials. As she intervened, telling them to ease off, he shouted: \u201cIf they treat an elected MP like this, imagine how they\u2019ll treat the migrants\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Speaking to the BBC, he compared the structures to a penal colony. <\/p>\n
He also doubted the ability of night-time rescuers to properly screen those picked up to ensure that no vulnerable individuals are sent to Albania. <\/p>\n
“They won\u2019t be able to delve deep into whether somebody has suffered torture or sexual violence or discrimination due to their sexuality back in Africa\u201d, Mr Magi said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all an attempt at dissuasion and a PR show to tell Italians this is the first time a government can keep migrants out. But nobody who has risked their life to cross to Italy will be discouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fabrizio Bucci, the Italian ambassador in Tirana, disagrees. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the elements that migrants and smugglers will have to factor in,” he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we have to lose? We\u2019ve been trying to redistribute migrants throughout the EU and it hasn\u2019t worked. So why not try to chart a new way?\u201d He refers to it as an experiment that, if successful, could be replicated.<\/p>\n
Indeed, 15 EU members, led by Denmark, recently wrote an open letter to the European Commission backing the outsourcing of migration. Sir Keir Starmer praised the Italy-Albania deal after meeting both Prime Ministers.<\/p>\n
It has drawn comparison with the plan of the previous Conservative government to deport failed asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Rwanda \u2013 ditched by Mr Starmer. <\/p>\n
But the agreements are significantly different.<\/p>\n
While Rwanda would have managed the asylum requests and centres under its deal, giving successful claimants asylum there and deporting failed ones to third countries deemed safe by the Rwandan government, the Albania deal will be under Italian jurisdiction. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe made sure the Albanian legislation was already in full compliance with EU and international laws\u201d, said Ambassador Bucci.<\/p>\n
For Albania, the reward is a boost to its image as it negotiates European Union membership. <\/p>\n
But Vladimir Karaj, a Tirana-based journalist with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, said it was a \u201ccomplete surprise\u201d when it was announced by the Prime Minister Edi Rama. Before the Rwanda deal was struck, there were reports that Britain was aiming for an agreement with Albania, which Mr Rama forcefully shot down. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe claimed he was strictly against this kind of treatment for refugees\u201d, he said. \u201cSo when Albania struck the deal with Italy, there was huge speculation over what Rama was gaining personally.”<\/p>\n
Mr Karaj says there\u2019s no “smoking gun”: “The government\u2019s narrative is that Italy is our best friend and took in Albanians when our dictatorship fell in the 1990s.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal, Mr Karaj said, has been met only with short-lived protests by some claiming it was aimed at replacing Albanians with foreigners, or giving away territory to Italy. <\/p>\n
He suspects other countries may now come knocking on Albania\u2019s door. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlbania needs the support it can get from the west\u201d, he said. \u201cIf western governments like the UK or Germany see this is a solution, I don\u2019t think Rama\u2019s words about it just being for Italy will be that easy to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n