The deal between Italy and Albania to outsource the processing of asylum claims is not in breach of EU law, according to European Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The agreement will allow Italy to outsource the processing of up to 36,000 asylum applications per year to Albania. The procedure will apply to migrants who are rescued at sea by Italian authorities and then disembarked in the Albanian coastal town of Shëngjin, where two centres will be built at Rome’s expense and exclusively governed under Italian jurisdiction. Migrants hosted in the hubs will not be allowed to leave the premises as they wait for their claims to be examined, which should not last more than 28 days. Pregnant women, children, and vulnerable people will be excluded. The launch date has been set for spring 2024, although the protocol still needs to be translated into proper legal acts and undergo ratification by the Albanian parliament. If eventually applied, the deal will represent the first time a member state of the European Union offloads parts of its asylum responsibilities to a third country, an idea that has been floated by Denmark and Austria in reaction to the UK-Rwanda plan.
CENTRAL EASTERN EUROPE NEWS
Controversial Italy-Albania Migrant Deal ‘Not Illegal’
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