The Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni met this afternoon in Rome with Her Albanian counterpart, Edi Ramawith which he signed a protocol to strengthen cooperation in immigration matters.

In more detail, after the end of the meeting, the Italian Prime Minister stated:

“Two centers for the management of irregular immigrants are to be created in Albanian territory, at the expense of Italy. Their total capacity will be three thousand people, for the period of time required for the examination of asylum applications and for eventual deportation. The initiative does not concern pregnant women, minors and other protected categories.”

Meloni added that “the guarding of the centers will be undertaken by the Albanian police, while Italian legislation will apply inside them” and that “they are expected to start operating in the spring of 2024”.

“I am satisfied, this is an agreement with a European spirit which proves that there can be three hundred and sixty degrees cooperation, as regards the management of migration flows”, she underlined.

The Albanian Prime Minister, for his part, underlined that “there are special historical, cultural and emotional elements that connect his country with Italy” and that “such an agreement could not be signed with any other European country”.

“When Italy calls for support, Albania answers. We want to help manage, with a little more breath, this difficult situation that Italy is facing. When you enter Italy, you enter the European Union, and geography, for Italy, has become a curse,” said Rama.

Finally, he emphasized that the idea for this agreement arose when Georgia Meloni was on vacation in Albania (this summer, s.s.) days when the news about immigrants landing in Italy was non-stop.”