Italy Agrees to Establish Centres in Albania for Thousands of Illegal Migrants
Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, signed a significant memorandum in Rome on Monday, in which Albania agreed to establish centres for tens of thousands of potential illegal migrants rescued at sea, headed for Italy. The centres will fall under Italian jurisdiction, as reported by Albanian Daily News.
"Mass illegal immigration is a phenomenon that no EU state can handle on its own, and cooperation between EU states and non-EU countries is currently fundamental," said Meloni.
She explained that the memorandum has three main goals: combating human trafficking and illegal migration, as well as receiving only those who are eligible for international protection.
According to the agreement, Italy will create two centres in Albania, which, according to Meloni, could eventually serve a "total annual flow of 36,000 individuals."
One centre will be located in the northwestern Albanian port of Shëngjin, dealing with disembarkation and identification procedures, where Italy will establish the first reception and verification centre.
In Gjirokastër, also in northwestern Albania, a second centre will be established.
Albania will cooperate in the external monitoring of these centres, with a series of protocols outlining their structure. It is planned for the centres to start operating in the spring of 2024, Meloni said.
This agreement is aimed at renewing Italy's political interest in the Balkans. Several high-ranking Italian political figures, including Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, have regularly met with their counterparts in Slovenia, Croatia, and Albania over the past few months. Migration has been a central topic of these meetings.
According to Italy's Department of Public Safety, the number of illegal migrants to Italy in 2023 up to November 1, 2023, reached 145,314 individuals. This is a 165% increase compared to 2021 and a 64% increase compared to 2022.
Albania has had limited capacity for receiving migrants, with most using it as a transit country to reach EU countries.
After the fall of communism in Albania in 1991, many Albanians fled to the southern coast of Italy on boats. According to data published in 2021 by Italy's National Institute of Statistics, 230,000 Albanian citizens have obtained Italian citizenship since 1991.