Italy Sends First Group of Illegal Migrants to Albania Under International Agreement

Italy has sent a ship with the first group of 16 illegal migrants - 10 men from Bangladesh and six from Egypt - to Albania as part of an agreement concluded by the countries.

This is reported by the Voice of America.

It is noted that the migrants were previously checked for compliance with a number of conditions. In particular, they must be men who come from safe countries and do not belong to vulnerable categories.

Upon arrival in Albania, they will undergo ‘accelerated border procedures’.

The migrants will be received at the centres in Shenjin and Gjader, which opened last week and are managed by Italy. Illegals will stay there while Rome considers their asylum applications.

According to the agreements reached between the two countries, Italy will remain legally responsible for the migrants throughout the process and will accept them if they are granted international protection or organise their deportation from Albania if they are refused.

In November 2023, the Prime Ministers of Italy and Albania, Giorgia Meloni and Edi Rama, announced a joint initiative in this area. According to the agreement, Albania will shelter up to 36,000 illegal migrants in two reception centres over the course of a year, and Italy will speed up the processing of their asylum applications.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the agreement, describing it as an important initiative and the result of ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking to address the migration problem.

However, human rights groups have criticised the scheme, calling it ‘the creation of a new Guantanamo Bay’. However, other European countries, including the UK, have expressed interest in the initiative.