The opening of new Italian-run migrant
centres in Albania, which was scheduled for 20 May, has been
postponed, according to reports Wednesday.
The Italian military engineers working on the Shengjin and
Gjader sites, according to the agreement between Rome and
Tirana, have not yet finished setting up the facilities.
Meanwhile, the contract for the management of the facilities for
24 months was awarded to the Medihospes cooperative with a bid
of 133.8 million euro.
Italy is to set up two migrant hotspots and a centre to hold
migrants awaiting repatriation for a total expenditure of almost
34 million euro a year.
The agreement, signed by Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian
counterpart Edi Rama in Rome in November, provides for the
reception and processing of up to 3,000 migrants and refugees
rescued by Italian ships per month.
People with special needs such as the elderly, children or
pregnant women, migrants and refugees who have been rescued by
NGO-run ships and people who land directly on Italian soil are
to be excluded from the deal.
Since taking office in autumn 2022 the Meloni government has
been reaching out to third countries in a bid to stem irregular
migration by sea to Italy, which in 2023 rose by around 50% over
the previous year.
The Italian opposition has slammed the Albania deal as creating
a new Guantanamo and allegedly breaching the Italian
Constitution, charges the government rejects.
The Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) and the Council of Europe
have also criticized the agreement.
Some other EU countries have said it is a model that could be
emulated, as has European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen.
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