The first group of migrants intercepted at sea by Italy arrived this Wednesday 16th in Albania, as part of an unprecedented agreement between a country in European Union and another from outside the bloc to outsource asylum requests.
Just before 8am local time (3am in Brasília), the Italian Navy ship “Libra” arrived at the port of Shengjin, in northern Albania, with 16 men from Egypt and Bangladesh on board, after more than 36 hours of travel. .
Fifteen people were awaiting arrival, journalists from the AFPbut were not allowed to enter the port.
After disembarking, the 16 men will be registered in the first center created by Italy in Albania to assist migrants, in prefabricated buildings in the port and guarded by Italian security forces. They will then be transferred to the Gjader camp, a former military base located approximately 20 km away.
In the camp, they will be housed in prefabricated spaces measuring 12 square meters, surrounded by high walls and security cameras, under surveillance by Italian forces.
There, they will be able to present their asylum application. Ten giant screens have been installed in a Rome courtroom to allow judges to monitor hearings. Asylum seekers will communicate with their lawyers via video conference.
If asylum requests are not accepted within 28 days, the agreement provides for them to remain in cells in the camp until they are expelled to their countries of origin.
A group of activists protested at the port with a banner that said: “The European dream ends here”. Protesters held photographs of the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Melonifar-right, and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, socialist, dressed as police officers.
‘The European dream ends here’: activists show protest banner – Photo: Adnan Beci / AFP
The initiative to outsource asylum requests, unprecedented in Europe, was formalized with a controversial agreement signed in November 2023 by both leaders.
The pact only covers adult men intercepted by the Italian Navy or Coast Guard in their area of intervention in international waters.
The first control is carried out on a military ship and then the migrants are taken to Shengjin to be identified and, from there, they are transferred to Gjader. The centers are expected to have the capacity to accommodate 1,000 people initially and 3,000 in the long term.
The agreement has a duration of five years and an annual budget of 160 million euros (980 million reais at current prices). The construction of two centers cost Italy 65 million euros (almost 400 million reais), twice the planned budget.
‘Brave’ for some, ‘inhumane’ for others
Praising a “courageous agreement” on Tuesday, Giorgia Meloni said she was “proud that Italy has become, from this point of view, an example to follow”, alluding to the interest expressed by the governments of France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. United in the Italian policy for managing migratory flows.
The agreement was heavily criticized by human rights NGOs, who consider it to violate international law.
The “Italy-Albania agreement violates international maritime law and could further undermine the fundamental rights of refugees”, denounced on Tuesday the NGO Humanity, which considered that “Italy in fact detains people seeking protection in Albanian territory without appreciation judicial process, which is deeply inhumane and violates their fundamental rights.”
The government of Greece, another country highly exposed to migrants irregularities and asylum seekers from Turkish coasts, criticized the Italo-Albanian agreement and defended a consensual solution at European level.
“Proposals at the level of bilateral agreements will lead nowhere. No one can face this problem alone,” Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum Nikos Panagiotopoulos told the private channel Skai.
Earlier this week, in a letter addressed to EU Member States, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned a proposal to transfer illegal migrants to reception centers in third countries, so-called “return centers”, before being sent to their countries of origin, and asked them to learn “lessons” from the Italy-Albania agreement.
