(Bloomberg) — An Italian navy ship has delivered the first batch of asylum seekers to Albania as part of a controversial deal that raises the stakes in how European Union member states are grappling with migration.
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The group of migrants rescued at sea arrived early Wednesday at the port of Shengjin, where they will be processed by Italian authorities on Albanian territory for possible asylum status in Italy, according to local port authorities. The attempt to push the trial outside Italian territory has been criticized by rights groups including Amnesty International.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has touted the scheme as a potential blueprint for EU member states in their efforts to tackle irregular migration, an issue that has polarized the region. Poland abruptly announced a suspension of asylum rights this month, while Germany has imposed border restrictions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would assess the Italy-Albania deal as a potential option as EU leaders meet for a summit this week in Brussels, where Meloni will hold an informal meeting on the sidelines will invest to push for stricter measures.
The facilities in Albania are not complete. While a shelter in the coastal city of Shengjin is ready, construction continues on a residential center in an inland village. Under the agreement, Italian officials will process up to 36,000 migrants annually on Albanian territory.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who brokered the deal with Meloni, has tried to pin responsibility for the system on Rome and said migrants would not be allowed to leave the facility.
“The construction and management of these centers have absolutely nothing to do with the Albanian government. It is not our responsibility,” he told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The Italian government has said women and children will not be sent to Albania. Amnesty International has said the scheme risks jeopardizing the rights of those seeking amnesty, while the opposition in Tirana has derided the project as “Albania’s Guantanamo”, referring to the US naval base on the coast of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
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