Albanian court approves €650m deal to host migrant detention centres for Italy

ALBANIA’S top court yesterday approved a controversial deal to host two holding centres for migrants rescued in Italian waters.

The agreement has been condemned by opposition parties in both countries, as well as rights groups, resulting in a legal challenge taken up by the constitutional court in Tirana.

“The agreement does not harm Albania’s territorial integrity,” the court said in a statement.

The ruling comes just days after Italian MPS voted in favour of the agreement – with the lower chamber of parliament backing the protocol by 155 votes to 115.

During the parliamentary debate, opposition MPS accused Georgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, of using migrants as “electoral propaganda”, saying the project would have little impact on numbers and was hugely costly.

The deal now goes to the Italian senate, where it is also expected to be approved.

Under the agreement, about 3,000 people a month who attempt to reach Italy by sea would be detained in two processing centres near the Albanian north-eastern port of Shengjin while their asylum claims are examined. The centres would be operated under Italian law. The estimated cost to Italy would be about €650 million (£550 million) over the five-year term of the accord.

The Albanian Right-wing opposition has called the deal an “irresponsible and dangerous act for national security” while Amnesty International described it as “illegal and unenforceable”.

The number of illegal migrants arriving in Italy by boat has risen from about 105,000 in 2022 to almost 158,000 in 2023, official figures show.