A Italy sent, this Monday 14th, a first group of migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to centers in Albaniadue to a controversial agreement between both countries.
The Italian Navy patrol vessel “Libra” is heading towards Albania with 16 migrants, all men, and their arrival is expected on the morning of Wednesday 16th, a government source told AFP.
The asylum seekers, ten of them from Bangladesh and six from Egypt, were rescued on Sunday in international waters by Italian authorities. The two vessels in which they were traveling had left Libya, from the Tripoli region, according to the same source.
Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office in October 2022 with a promise to halt the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants to the Italian coast each year from North Africa.
In November last year, Meloni reached a controversial agreement with his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, to house some migrants while their asylum applications are processed.
The agreement, which lasts five years and has a budget of 160 million euros (978 million reais), provides that migrants intercepted by Italian boats in international waters, but within Italy’s designated search area, will be transferred to a military vessel for a first check.
At this stage, it will be analyzed which migrants come from countries considered “safe”, which would allow accelerated repatriation.
The rest will be taken to Albania for registration and then to a camp where Italy will be responsible for what happens inside the compound and Albanian forces will be in charge of external security.
This agreement has been heavily criticized by human rights groups who question whether Albania – which, unlike Italy, is not a member of the European Union – can offer sufficient protection to asylum seekers.
Last year, around 160,000 migrants arrived on the Italian coast, while in 2022 there will be 105,000, according to data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior.
But this number has dropped significantly in 2024, with 53,300 arrivals recorded to date.
