Italy outsources asylum procedures to Albania: questions and answers

1. Who is brought to the centers?

On Wednesday, the first Italian ship with migrants on board docked in Shengjin, Albania. There are sixteen men on board the “Libra”, ten from Bangladesh and six from Egypt. They were first taken to the reception center in the small port town. The migrants were picked up by the Italian coast guard south of the island of Lampedusa on Sunday.

The Italians now regularly check migrant ships in international waters off their coast. Men from countries that are considered safe (according to a list there are 21, including Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia) are taken to Albania for evaluation. Women, children, injured people, but also men from countries with high asylum rates continue to arrive in Italy.

In 2023, 157,000 people came to Italy via the central Mediterranean route, most via Libya and Tunisia. In comparison, crossings have decreased by 60 percent this year. The EU attributes this to migration agreements with the two countries.

2. How do the centers in Shengjin and Gjader work?

 

After a short stay at the reception center in Shengjin, which has 200 places, the migrants are taken to Gjader, twenty kilometers away. The new asylum center is located on a former air force base. According to Italian media reports, it offers space for 880 asylum seekers, as well as a ward for 144 people awaiting repatriation and a prison wing for 20 people. According to the contract, Italy is allowed to expand the center for up to 3,000 people.

Italian law applies on the site and the centers are operated by Italian staff. Both the center in Shengjin and the one in Gjader are closed institutions. The new arrival undergoes a health check before the asylum procedure begins. This should last a maximum of four weeks (including the possibility of appeal). In Italy, the procedures usually take over a year. Anyone who is rejected should be taken home or to a safe third country. The UN refugee agency UNHCR is invited to observe the operation. Over the next five years the costs are expected to amount to 670 million euros.

3. What role does Albania play?

Albania signed the agreement with Italy (Italy-Albania Protocol) on November 6, 2023. It takes over the external surveillance of the centers. Everything else, according to Prime Minister Edi Rama, is in Italian hands. Rama emphasizes that Albania is providing a service to neighboring Italians without asking for anything in return. However, Meloni has promised to work for the country’s accession to the EU. Tirana has recently opened its first negotiating chapter with Brussels. Local businesses also hope to benefit from the asylum center. The “Trattoria Meloni” opened in Gjader.

4. What does politics say?

 

The “Aperitif Pact” is controversial in Italy. Critics call the agreement that because it was supposedly thought up at a meeting between Meloni and Rama. The opposition questions the effectiveness, especially when it comes to the possibility of returns: A center like the one on Lampedusa is now emerging in Albania, where the situation will sooner or later get out of control. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on the other hand, argues that the new system is primarily about deterrence: those who have no prospect of asylum, i.e. a large proportion of migrants, will think twice about getting on a boat and then going to Albania land.

The experiment resonates across Europe. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had it explained to him in Rome and is said to have shown interest in using the infrastructure. The Italians refused. In May, fifteen EU interior ministers wrote a letter to the Commission recommending the transfer of asylum seekers to third countries.

Shortly before the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter to the member states on migration policy. It lists the Italy-Albania Protocol as potentially groundbreaking. Just two years ago it sounded different. At the time, the responsible commissioner described the outsourcing of procedures as inhumane. Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International continue to support their strict rejection. The approach is disgraceful and restricts the right to an asylum procedure.

5. What are the important legal issues?

Italy considers Albania to be a safe third country, which is why it considers the outsourcing of the procedures to be legal: they are carried out there in accordance with Italian law, the applicants have legal advice and an opportunity to object. Lawyers also refer to a report from the European Parliament’s legal service. In 2018, it determined that migrants who were caught on the high seas could be taken to third countries. EU law then does not apply. The situation would be different if the migrants were in the waters of a member state.

Last year, British courts ruled with regard to the Rwanda Agreement that the outsourcing of proceedings to a third country was generally permissible under international law. However, only if a fair procedure is guaranteed. Lawyers from aid organizations contradict this view. There is no doubt that the Italy-Albania Protocol will continue to concern the courts.