Italy has invested 670 million euros in migrant camps in… Albania

Two migrant accommodation centers in Albania, which will receive asylum seekers from Italy, will become operational in 2024. The first migrants have already begun their journey by sea to the cities Schengen And Jander in Albania, where these two structures were built.

Migrant reception centers are located in Sengin, 75 km north of the capital Tirana, and next to former military airfield in Jander, they cost Italy 670 million euros. While external security will be provided by Albanian guards, the centers will be managed entirely by Italy. Italian staff, including police officers, doctors, psychologists and other personnel, are already there. Watch the video:

Once the migrants are screened in Shengjin, those eligible for asylum will be transferred to Gyader, a former Albanian airbase that has 880 beds for asylum seekers, 144 beds in a repatriation detention center and 20 beds in a correctional facility. It is estimated that up to 36,000 economic migrants could be processed and repatriated per year.

Photos of the facility in Shengjin

The Albanian government will only consider asylum applications from countries deemed “safe” by Italy. The list, recently expanded from 15 to 21 countries, includes Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, among others.

In 2022, more than 56,000 people from these countries arrived in Italy. However, due to their countries of origin being considered safe, most asylum claims are expected to be rejected, leading to detention and possible deportation. Those granted asylum will be transferred to Italy.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing allies have long called on European countries to share the burden of migration, and cooperation with Albania is part of that strategy. By processing asylum claims beyond the Italian border, Italy is seeking to speed up the process of repatriating migrants.

However, humanitarian organizations are concerned about new systemfearing that the centers would quickly fill up with people waiting to return to their homeland. Critics say the plan prioritizes the return of migrants, neglecting their rights and worsening conditions their lives.

#Migranti verso l'Albania sulla nave militare Libra, con a bordo 16 persone intercettate in acque internazionali. #Bruxelles Approva il protocollo #RomaTirana. Lettera di #vonderLeyen “Sviluppare hub fuori dall'#UE. @Gavinomorett pic.twitter.com/hxjVoHQLlA

— Rai Radio1 (@Radio1Rai) October 15, 2024

The transfer of 16 migrants who arrived in Albania on the Italian ship Libra cost the Italian authorities more than 250,000 euros. Meanwhile, it is surprising that during the first voyage of the Italian fleet ship Libra to two closed centers for asylum seekers in northern Albania, only 16 migrants were found, according to official data from the Ministry of Interior in Rome. They were ten Egyptians and six Bangladeshis who arrived on boats from Sabratha and Zuara in Libya. The Italian Navy ship is expected to arrive in Albania tomorrow. According to the newspaper La Repubblica, the total cost of this Libra voyage is more than 250,000 euros.

The center-left Democratic Party of Italy, through its secretary Ellie Sline, stressed that “the Meloni government is throwing eight hundred million euros of Italian citizens at a deal to transfer migrants to Albania, violating fundamental human rights and ignoring a court order EUwhich makes the whole deal questionable.”

However, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in her letter to European heads of state and government ahead of the October 17-18 summit, stressed: “We must continue to explore the opportunities we can pursue when it comes to developing repatriation centers outside the EU, in particular with the new proposal for repatriation legislation.” As soon as the actions provided for in the protocol between Italy and Albania begin, we will be able to draw practical conclusions.”

Photo: Getty Images, AFP

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