A naval ship carrying migrants intercepted in Italian waters has docked in Albania, nearly a year after Rome and Tirana reached a controversial deal to process asylum-seekers.
Sixteen men from Bangladesh and Egypt disembarked from an Italian navy vessel at Shengjin port shortly before 10:00am local time on Wednesday morning and were escorted in small groups towards the gates of an Italian-run processing centre just a few metres from the vessel.
Amnesty International has called the centres a "cruel experiment [that] is a stain on the Italian government".
Italy will run two migrant detention centres in Albania, surrounded by high walls and security cameras – one in Shengjin and the other one in Gjader, 20 kilometres from the port.
The centres will be operated under Italian law, with Italian security and staff, with judges hearing cases by video from Rome.
According to Italian diplomats, more than 300 Italian soldiers, doctors and judges are involved in the operation.
After disembarking in Shengjin, the migrants will be registered and undergo health checks.
They will then be transferred to the Gjader centre, where they will be accommodated in prefabricated houses of some 12 square metres and await the processing of their asylum claims.
Cells have been set up on site for applicants whose asylum requests are refused.
'Courageous' or 'cruel'
Rights groups have questioned whether there will be enough protection for the asylum seekers and have expressed doubts as to whether the move complies with international law.
But Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has brushed aside criticism, saying Tuesday: "It is a new, courageous, unprecedented path, but one that perfectly reflects the European spirit and has everything it takes to be followed also with other non-EU nations".
The arrangement between the two countries is a European first, which other leaders in the region are watching closely.
The migrants' arrival in Albania comes ahead of a European Union summit in Brussels this week, where migration is on the table.
In a letter to member states ahead of the talks, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would "be able to draw lessons from this [Albania] experience in practice".
The project was agreed in a November 2023 deal between Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.
Set to last five years, it will cost Italy an estimated €160 million a year.
Migrants intercepted in Italian waters who are deemed the most vulnerable – like women and children – are due to be taken to Italy.
Albania's centres will have a capacity of 1,000 initially growing to 3,000 in the long term.
(With AFP)
