An Italian opposition MP has lambasted the start of the scheme to process migrants in Albania as a fiasco – but locals living near the new facilities are eyeing up potential economic benefits.
The first ship bringing migrants intercepted at sea by Italy’s navy to Albania to facilities intended to shore up the EU country’s external borders docked on Wednesday at the port of Shengjin.
But journalists watching the ship arrive saw fewer people disembark than they had expected.
The ship only brought 16 migrants to Albania, where they will be accommodated in a new reception camp facility in Gjader designed to hold hundreds. And four of those who arrived were immediately returned to Italy.
The flagship migrant offshoring scheme is being keenly watched by other European countries considering similar projects, under pressure from electorates seeking reductions in immigration.
But Italian MP Riccardo Magi, a member of the small liberal More Europe party, said the controversial plan backed by PM Giorgia Meloni to process refugees rescued in the Mediterranean in Albania appeared to be “a very costly failure from the first day”.
“Millions of Italian taxpayers’ money are being burned here,” Magi said following a visit to the reception camp in Gjader along with Rachele Scarpa and Roberto Valaschiani, two other Italian opposition MPs.
The Italian ship Libra traveled some 1,200 kilometers from the Island of Lampedusa, between Sicily and Tunisia, to Albania to bring the migrants who come from Egypt and Bangladeshi, both of which have been declared safe countries of origin by the Italian government.
Following initial checks at Shengjin port, two of them were found out to be minors and were forwarded to Italy while two others were deemed to be in need of medical care, and so, under international humanitarian law, were also sent to Italy. The other 12 adults were sent by bus to the Gjader camp, some 20 kilometres inland.
“Thousands of euros were spent for 16 migrants in a ship that is manned by 70 or 80 personnel,” Maggi noted.
Local residents in the village of Gjader, just few hundred metres from the camp, have a more positive view of the migrant project.
They say the initiative is bringing in revenue, as an unspecified number of Italian officials, from guards to medics, have arrived to work there.
Aleksander Preka of Gjader told BIRN the camp is opening new jobs in the area, while locals have rented out homes and shops are cashing in.
“The Italian workers are staying here in the village and we are having a good time,” he told BIRN. “It is a very good start and we are hoping to see more in the future,” he added.
Albania’s Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italy’s right-wing premier Meloni agreed to the controversial plan in 2023.
Meloni aims to have some 3,000 migrants’ claims processed per month in Albania instead of Italy, claiming this will discourage others from crossing the Mediterranean.
Most come from Libya, where the central government collapsed a decade ago, creating a lawless zone that favours human trafficking.
The plan was welcomed by anti-immigrant right-wing parties across Europe. But Rama has insisted the deal with Italy is a one-off and he will not do a similar deal with any other country.
Italy is expected to spend some 800 million euros over the next few years on the project. Currently the camp can hold up to 400 migrants and is expected to be enlarged in the following months as construction work continues.
However, before they can bring migrants in Albania, the Italian authorities face many hurdles under international humanitarian law, including an obligation to aid victims of human trafficking and those coming from non-safe countries of origin.
They also cannot send children and women to Albania or divide families. These limitations make Meloni’s goal of processing up to 3,000 migrants per month in Albania a challenge.
It is not yet known when the next ship carrying migrants will arrive from Italy – or what impact the Italian court ruling will have on the whole project.
There was another twist in the story on Friday when a court in Rome ordered the transfer back to Italy of the 12 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt who were sent to Albania. The court said that it was impossible to assess whether they came from a “safe country of origin”, so they have a right to have their asylum claims processed in Italy.
The decision was based on a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which concluded that a country of origin cannot be assessed as “safe” if parts of it are not – a decision that could have a major impact on the viability of the offshoring project.
Locals are ‘having a good time’
Local residents in the village of Gjader, just few hundred metres from the camp, have a more positive view of the migrant project.
They say the initiative is bringing in revenue, as an unspecified number of Italian officials, from guards to medics, have arrived to work there.
Aleksander Preka of Gjader told BIRN the camp is opening new jobs in the area, while locals have rented out homes and shops are cashing in.
“The Italian workers are staying here in the village and we are having a good time,” he told BIRN. “It is a very good start and we are hoping to see more in the future,” he added.
Albania’s Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama and Italy’s right-wing premier Meloni agreed to the controversial plan in 2023.
Meloni aims to have some 3,000 migrants’ claims processed per month in Albania instead of Italy, claiming this will discourage others from crossing the Mediterranean.
Most come from Libya, where the central government collapsed a decade ago, creating a lawless zone that favours human trafficking.
The plan was welcomed by anti-immigrant right-wing parties across Europe. But Rama has insisted the deal with Italy is a one-off and he will not do a similar deal with any other country.
Italy is expected to spend some 800 million euros over the next few years on the project. Currently the camp can hold up to 400 migrants and is expected to be enlarged in the following months as construction work continues.
However, before they can bring migrants in Albania, the Italian authorities face many hurdles under international humanitarian law, including an obligation to aid victims of human trafficking and those coming from non-safe countries of origin.
They also cannot send children and women to Albania or divide families. These limitations make Meloni’s goal of processing up to 3,000 migrants per month in Albania a challenge.
It is not yet known when the next ship carrying migrants will arrive from Italy – or what impact the Italian court ruling will have on the whole project.