Italy sends a boat to Albania carrying migrants who were heading to Italian shores

Italy sent its first boat carrying migrants to Albania on Monday, under a plan to send migrants rescued by Italian ships in the Mediterranean to detention centers in the Balkan country, where their asylum claims will be assessed.

The plan, heralded by the Italian government and some European Union leaders as an innovative model for managing and deterring migration to Italy, has been criticized by officials and human rights groups, who fear it could endanger and expose migrants. for rights violations.

The centers in the Albanian cities of Shengjin and Gadir began operating last week.

Francesco Kamel, spokesman for the Italian Interior Ministry, said that 16 men from Egypt and Bangladesh were recovered in international waters and were expected to arrive in Albania on Wednesday morning.

The Italian government said that only “non-risk” men from “safe countries” would be transferred to the centers in Albania. Children, pregnant women and other people classified as “vulnerable” – including sick and disabled people – will not go to the centers but will be transported directly to Italy for treatment.

Once in Albania, the migrants will be allowed to register for asylum and can bring their cases remotely before Italian judges, then wait for responses to the applications. These asylum cases can often take months, but Italy’s Interior Minister, Matteo Piantidosi, said last week that they expect these cases to be resolved within just days.

If asylum requests are rejected, Albania will expel the migrants directly to their countries of origin.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the program as “a model of cooperation between EU and non-EU countries in managing migration flows.” Albania is not a member of the European Union but is being considered for membership.

But critics said the plan would amount to a dangerous “externalization” of national borders. When the plan was announced, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, warned that such “measures significantly increase the risk of exposing refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to human rights violations.”

Italy’s opposition Democratic Party leader Elie Schlein accused the government on Monday of wasting public money to build migrant centers in Albania.

But European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen supported the plan. It is called “An example of unconventional thinking, based on fair sharing of responsibilities with third countries.”

Piantidosi said last week that he expected the program to become a deterrent for migrants seeking to enter Italy.

The agreement with Albania is similar to the agreement sought by the British government, through which it planned to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda before their claims were assessed in Britain. The British courts blocked the implementation of the proposal.

Ms. Meloni said that she and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the Albania plan during his recent visit to Italy, and that the British government had shown “strong interest” in it.

Elisabetta Povoledo He contributed reporting from Rome.