A ship carrying the first group of migrants from Italy arrives in Albania today, marking the official start of a controversial plan to process thousands of asylum-seekers in the Balkan nation.
An Italian naval vessel, which left the island of Lampedusa on Monday, has transferred an initial group of 16 migrants, as part of a deal send up to 36,000 asylum-seekers to Albania each year.
The 16 men, ten from Bangladesh and six from Egypt, were rescued in international waters on Sunday.
Italy has said only "non-vulnerable" men coming from countries classified as safe would be sent to Albania.
Currently, there are 21 nations on the Italian list of “safe countries”.
Last year, more than 56,000 migrants arrived in Italy from just four of those countries - Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia.
The Italian government, in cooperation with the government in Tirana, has constructed two reception centres in Albania, capable of accommodating and processing up to 3,000 migrants at a time.
The agreement, costing Italy the equivalent of £560 million over five years, was signed last November by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.
It is the first deal involving a European Union nation, diverting migrants to a non-EU country in an effort to deter illegal arrivals.
European leaders will this week discuss the possibility of adopting the Italian model of “asylum hubs” outside EU borders.
Although still viewed as a controversial approach by some EU members, the idea of asylum hubs is being increasingly discussed among a number of European nations.
The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen has said member states should “continue to explore possible ways forward as regards the idea of developing return hubs outside the EU”.
She said the EU could “draw lessons” from Italy’s agreement with Albania.
That deal differs from the agreement the UK’s previous Conservative government agreed with Rwanda.
Under that deal, anyone sent to Rwanda would not be allowed to return to the UK, and would have to settle in the East African nation, even if their application for asylum was successful.
The Italian partnership with Albania still allows for successful asylum applicants to be returned to Italy.
However, because those being sent for processing to Albania are categorised as having come from a “safe country” it is thought unlikely that many would be granted asylum.
Sir Keir Stramer scrapped the Rwanda scheme on his first day in office, describing the deal as a “gimmick”.
However, he is reported to have expressed interest in the Italian model, while on a visit to meet Prime Minister Meloni in Rome last month.
But a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) earlier this month could yet throw a spanner in the works of the Italian scheme.
The court decision has been seen as limiting the definition of what might be considered a safe country outside the EU.
Ruling on a separate case involving the Czech Republic, the Court said a country outside the bloc cannot be declared safe unless its entire territory is deemed free of danger.
That might severely impact the number of individuals Italy could lawfully send to Albania.
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