Reception centres for asylum seekers in Albania virtually empty
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s plan to receive asylum seekers in Albania appears to be unfeasible due to legal complications. Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor specialising in migration law, comments on the issue on Dutch RTL news site.
Under Meloni’s plan, asylum seekers would apply for asylum in Albania instead of Italy and await processing there. However, the Supreme Court in Italy blocked this outsourcing of migrant detentions as it violates European regulations. Mark Klaassen points to the important legal principle that European law and international treaties take precedence over national law – in this case Italian national law: 'The whole plan goes against laws, regulations and treaties that Italy itself has agreed to. It is therefore not surprising that the Italian government is constantly being reined in by the courts.' Klaassen finds it odd that the Italian government held bilateral talks with Albania anyway, even though this is something actually regulated at European level.
Due to the Italian court's rejection of the plan, the reception of asylum seekers in Albania since the reception centre's opening last October has been a non-starter. Only 24 asylum seekers have arrived there and they were later returned to Italy. The reception centre now mainly provides shelter for stray dogs.