Italian migrant center in Albania faces bumpy start after legal setbacks
Italyʼs plan to process migrants in Albania hits snags after courts question legal framework. New attempt with smaller group tests waters for innovative asylum-processing approach
Italys newest non-EU migrant-processing setup in Albania started its second try with a small-scale test. The Italian navy ship brought just 8 rescued people to Shengjin port (which happened early morning last wednesday)
The Italian-Albanian deal created two processing-spots: one in Shengjin and another in Gjader — both run by Italian workers with a max limit of 3k people at once. Its a first-of-its-kind plan where an EU country moves asylum tasks outside the union
The first try didnt go as planned: about a year ago a group of 16 people from Egypt and Bangladesh got sent back to Italy real quick. A Rome court said: you cant keep them in Albania; theres problems with their legal status. Most of these people ended up in regular non-guarded spots for asylum-seekers
Legal stuff got tricky when judges looked at what makes a “safe“ country — the European court says you cant call a place safe if some parts arent ok. Now Italian officials might focus on people from Tunisia (since its seen as more stable than other spots); but nobody confirmed this yet
The whole thing shows how hard it is to make new rules work: even when you think youve got everything figured out theres always some catch. The Italian-Albanian setup keeps trying to find its way through all these rules and laws‚ but its moving real slow and careful now
