Italy has sent its first asylum seekers to Albania in a controversial deal
The first people to be intercepted at sea by the Italian navy were sent to Albania on Monday to have their applications processed under a controversial migration deal, writes The Guardian.
Italy has sent its first asylum seekers to Albania in a controversial deal
As part of the pact signed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a navy ship left on Monday “with some illegal migrants on board”, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed.
It would be about men who were part of a group trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe. The sick women, children and men were taken to the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy.
Upon disembarkation at the port of Schëngjin, the men will undergo a more thorough check, after which they will be taken to a center located on a former Albanian air force base in Gjadër, where they will be held pending the processing of their asylum claims.
As part of the Italian-funded deal, three facilities were officially opened in Albania last week: a center with a capacity to house 880 asylum seekers, a pre-deportation center with 144 beds and a small prison with 20 beds.
The pact, which human rights groups say violates international law but which the EU tacitly approved, was signed by Meloni and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, last November. Meloni then declared that, in exchange for the support given, he would do everything in his power to support Albania’s accession to the EU.
The deal will cost Italy 670 million euros over five years. The centers are administered by Italy and will be under Italian jurisdiction.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
