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Italy resumes migrant transfers to Albania amid controversy

An Italian Navy vessel has brought 49 migrants into the Albanian port of Shengjin, as Italy resumes its controversial plan to send migrants to Albania for asylum processing. The delivery is the third attempt by Italian authorities to carry out the arrangement after previous attempts were thwarted by Italian judges who ordered the return of migrants on grounds of safety in their home countries.

The ship arrived early on Tuesday morning, and the migrants were to be taken to a reception centre in Shengjin before being transferred to the Gjader accommodation centre, some 22 kilometres to the east.

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It’s part of an agreement between the right-wing Italian government and Albania – that was announced in November 2023 and was then seen as the first such deal in the EU, allowing a member state to transfer migrants for processing to a non-EU country. Under the same agreement, Italy has since opened two reception centres in Albania.

Past transfers to Albania had proved impossible in October and November due to Italian magistrates vetoing detentions at the centers on concerns for their personal safety if transferred home. The two cases are in appeal in front of the European Court of Justice, that should shed a light on Italy’s plan against EU law over the coming weeks.

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The deal will enable Italy to transfer a maximum of 3,000 migrants intercepted by the Italian coastguard monthly to Albania while awaiting asylum checks in Italy or being returned to their home countries. Italy has agreed to take in everyone who receives asylum, while anyone who gets turned down will be sent to Albania.

With increasing pressure from far-right factions, a number of EU states have moved to enact more restrictive immigration policies. But the deal has been called into question on legal grounds, with Amnesty International calling the centers a “cruel experiment” and “a stain on the Italian government.”.

This year so far, there have been 3,704 landings in Italy, over twice the number compared to the same period of last year. In total, 66,317 migrants arrived in Italy in 2022-a significantly reduced number compared with previous years.

Source
Al Jazeera

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