Politics Meloni has "Albania model" revised
Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is having her "Albania model" for the rapid deportation of Mediterranean refugees revised after several defeats in court.
12.02.2025, 17:42
SDA
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed reports in parliament that migrants whose asylum applications have already been rejected on Italian soil could in future be accommodated in camps in the non-EU country of Albania.
The two camps are currently empty - much to the annoyance of the government. Since opening in the fall, men who had been stopped by the Italian coast guard on the high seas while fleeing across the Mediterranean have only been interned there for a few days at a time. In Albania, Italian officials are supposed to quickly decide on asylum applications and then deport them. However, the model has not worked so far.
Plans already stopped three times by the judiciary
The judiciary in Rome has already stopped the government's plans three times since October. As a result, all 66 men who were detained in Albania had to be brought to Italy. Italy is the only country in the European Union that operates such camps outside the EU. However, other European governments are following the plans closely. On February 25, the European Court of Justice will deal with the model for the first time. No date has yet been set for the ruling.
Costs of more than 650 million euros
Piantedosi has now confirmed for the first time in the Chamber of Deputies that the government is working on "solutions to overcome the obstacles that have arisen to date". In the camps in Shengjin and Gjader, there are also possibilities for "repatriation detention". However, there is resistance to such ideas in Albania.
The costs for the construction and operation of the camps are estimated at more than 650 million euros. In principle, there is space for more than 1,200 migrants. The government only allows adult men to be selected for the camps who it considers to come from safe countries of origin. Women and children are not brought there.
There is now a fierce dispute between the government and the judiciary. The core issue is who is allowed to determine whether another country is a safe country of origin. Italy is one of the countries particularly affected by the movement of refugees across the Mediterranean. Last year, around 66,500 new arrivals were registered, less than half as many as in 2023. People repeatedly die on the dangerous crossing.
