“Meloni Land” in Albania: First migrants arrive in Italy’s camps in Albania

After months of delay, Italy’s asylum experiment is starting: For the first time on Wednesday, the Italian navy brought migrants to Albania, where they go through an asylum procedure under Italian law in special camps. Sixteen men from Egypt and Bangladesh arrived in the port city of Shengjin in the morning and were escorted to a reception center by security forces, as seen on television.

Italy is the first EU country to accommodate migrants in camps outside the EU. The men had previously tried to enter Europe irregularly in a refugee boat.

The migrants will later be transferred to the main camp in Gjader in the interior of the country. There, Rome wants to examine extraterritorial asylum applications in a fast-track procedure and process deportations more quickly. Those who are entitled to asylum will be transferred to Italy. Anyone who is rejected should be sent back to their country of origin.

This means that the agreement negotiated by Italy’s right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama last year is now officially underway. The plan: Asylum procedures will be outsourced from Italy and deportations will be simplified. Meloni had also emphasized that the refugee camps should serve as a deterrent. There was initially no official announcement from the Italian Ministry of the Interior about the arrival of the first group.

Only men from safe countries of origin are affected

Only men from countries of origin classified as safe who are picked up by Italian authorities’ ships on their way across the Mediterranean to Europe are admitted. Before they are brought to Albania, an initial check is carried out on board. Women, children, the sick and victims of torture are excluded from shipment to Albania. Migrants who reach Italy’s coasts on their own or are taken on board by civilian sea rescuers on the high seas are also exempt from this.

Warehouses cost Italy a total of 670 million euros

Italy manages the camps and ensures security there. In addition, Rome bears all “direct and indirect” costs. These are therefore Italian camps on Albanian soil. Newspapers in Italy therefore mocked the idea of ​​a “Meloni country”. The two camps will cost Italy a total of around 670 million euros over a period of five years.

Italy is one of the countries particularly affected by the refugee movement from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean. Last year in particular, the numbers were high: almost 160,000 migrants reached Italy’s coasts on boats in 2023. Fewer than half as many people are currently arriving than a year ago. Nevertheless, tens of thousands still make their way across the Mediterranean on boats that are often barely seaworthy.

EU states are closely monitoring the outsourcing of asylum procedures

The agreement on the handling of asylum procedures in third countries is a first that is being followed closely by other EU states. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) described it as an “interesting model”. She announced that she would include the experiences from the project in her considerations about the possibility of such procedures. However, the minister is of the opinion that, in addition to legal questions, what is particularly relevant is whether there is a state that would be willing to tolerate such procedures in its territory.

The Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag considers the project to be a promising model that the federal government should follow as an example. “There is some evidence to suggest that the cooperation between Italy and Albania will prevent people without need of protection from making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean in the future,” said the deputy group leader, Andrea Lindholz (CSU). The federal government must create the legal and practical conditions for the use of such models.

Albania received many requests

According to Rama, he has already received many requests from other EU countries to accommodate asylum seekers in Albania. He rejected this, but made an exception for Italy.

From Meloni’s perspective, this is a success. The Prime Minister is therefore likely to appear stronger at the EU summit of European heads of state and government on Thursday. The issue of migration will play an important role there.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also interested in the project. In a report before the summit, the German leader suggested “exploring possible avenues for the development of return centers outside the EU.” Practical lessons can be learned from the Italy-Albania model.

Criticism of the legality and conditions for migrants

Human rights activists, on the other hand, criticized the project and spoke of an “Italian Guantánamo”. The legality is also questioned. A ruling by the European Court of Justice raises doubts about the project. Accordingly, a country can only be considered safe if, among other things, there is no persecution or torture there. However, 15 of the 22 countries of origin classified as safe by Italy do not meet these conditions.