Albania wants to take migrants from Italy in future
While a federal-state summit in Germany has just decided to examine whether asylum procedures outside of Europe are possible, Italy has already initiated an agreement with Albania. During a visit by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to Rome on Monday, he and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni signed a letter of intent to this effect.
The envisaged agreement is based on the following key points: Migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by the Italian coastguard or financial police are to be brought to Albania from next spring. Two centers are to be set up there, a reception center and one to repatriate migrants who do not have the right to asylum. As Meloni emphasized at the press conference, pregnant women, minors and other migrants in need of assistance are to be excluded from the regulation. The agreement should also not apply to refugees who have already set foot on Italian soil - this would not even be legally possible.
The plan is to limit the number of migrants to be temporarily accommodated in Albania to a maximum of 39,000. That would be slightly less than a third of the 145,000 refugees who have arrived in Italy so far this year. The centers are to be built, managed and paid for by Italy, and Rome will also provide the staff in the two camps, at least that is the current plan. Meloni believes that this is "an innovative approach that could serve as a model for similar agreements", as she said.
Albania is not Rwanda
How innovative the agreement actually is remains to be seen. The British government has so far been unable to implement a similar agreement with Rwanda after the Supreme Court halted the plans. However, there is a difference between the British and Italian plans: Unlike the UK, Italy does not rule out asylum seekers whose applications have been reviewed and approved from entering the country. According to the Prime Minister, the measure is primarily intended to prevent migrants from risking the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
In addition, the Italian media are unanimous in stating that it must first be checked whether such an agreement complies with Italian and European law. The plans are said to have been negotiated during Meloni's flying visit to the Albanian capital Tirana in August and have so far been kept secret. No reason for this secrecy has been given.
The coalition partners of the right-wing nationalist government expressed their satisfaction with the agreement with Tirana. The opposition, on the other hand, called it unlawful and suggested that the government only wanted to distract the Italians from the many broken promises that were made a year ago during the election campaign and have since vanished into thin air.
What if Albania is no longer a third country?
The two countries have a traditionally close relationship, despite Italian attempts to conquer Albania in the past, primarily during the First and Second World Wars. This may also have to do with the fact that several Albanian communities fleeing the Ottomans settled in southern Italy between the 16th and 18th centuries.
The key question with regard to the planned agreement is: what has Meloni promised her colleague Rama in return for the assistance? "If Italy calls, we'll be there," was the Albanian Prime Minister's answer on Monday. After all, Italy had helped the Albanians when thousands of them fled from the communist regime across the sea to Italy at the beginning of the 1990s. "Besides, why do you always have to ask for something in return?" he asked, sounding almost naïve.
You don't really buy this kind-heartedness from Rama, who is a shrewd politician. Albania's EU accession process has been open since 2022, but the road is still long and not without hurdles. Italy has promised Tirana one hundred percent support. The next few months will show whether this is all Italy has to offer in return for Albania's generosity - provided the agreement is actually implemented. Especially as it can only work as long as Albania is not a member of the EU.
Giorgia Meloni praised the agreement with Albania as potentially serving as a model for similar deals, suggesting its innovativeness. Despite this, the legal compliance of the plan is yet to be determined, as Italian media noted.
With Italy's pledge of full support for Albania's EU accession process, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama indicated that if Italy calls for assistance, Albania will be there, hinting at potential future favors.
Source: www.ntv.de
