Albanian example for solving the European migration crisis: when Italy calls - Albania responds

Writing for Kosovo Online: Dragan Bisenic

The agreement between Albania and Italy on the construction of refugee centers outside the EU, serving the EU, represents a significant change in Balkan refugee policy. This is the first agreement of its kind reached between an EU member state and a non-EU state that will be implemented in practice. In the past, there have been attempts to establish reception centers for asylum seekers outside the EU, but without success. A similar agreement between the EU and Tunisia failed in April of this year, and in June, a British court halted the refugee agreement between that country and Rwanda because the small Central African country was not considered a "safe third country". In April, the British Government announced that it had reached an agreement with Rwanda that would allow the sending of asylum seekers to that African country, in return for which Great Britain would pay £120 million (€140 million) for economic development programs.

Since January, Italy has received 150,000 migrants by sea, compared to only 88,000 in the entire previous year. The high number of arrivals and the difficulties with accommodation in Italy is putting the Government under pressure, especially since voters were loudly promised during the election campaign that this problem would be quickly resolved.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is a declared supporter of the Rwanda model currently being discussed in Germany. The idea behind it is to deter migrants from escaping to Europe by offering them the option to be taken to a so-called third country outside Europe to process their asylum procedures. Tunisia was initially supposed to play the role of Rwanda, but President Kais Saied said "no" despite friendly relations with Italy. Now, Meloni has found another solution: Albania, which is located on the other side of the Adriatic.

The Italian Government wants to build two reception centers for migrants in Albania and manage them under its own administration. Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama signed the corresponding declaration of intent in Rome. They laid the foundations for this during a private meeting in August during their annual vacations when they apparently discussed the project and have since secretly operationalized it. It was noted at the time that in August, during her very brief holiday at a strictly guarded holiday home in Puglia, she took a boat trip to Albania with her family, where Rama invited her to his summer villa. However, the purpose of the trip was not entirely clear, but it seems that it is now.

Plans made in Albania and the subsequent preparations have not only remained hidden from the public, but it seems that even the two coalition partners of Meloni were not fully informed, although they at least expressed their reservations. Strong opposition comes from the ranks of the opposition, which speaks of an "Italian Guantanamo" and announces strong opposition in parliament. Resistance is also growing in Albania, and in the European Parliament, the socialists are turning against their party colleague Rama.

Meloni assures that all international rules will be followed. In these two camps, requests for admission should be examined within 28 days if possible, and rapid returns to countries of origin should be enabled. According to the plans, the centers will start operating in the spring of 2024 and will provide space for nearly 40,000 refugees annually. Italy will cover all ongoing costs during the project's planned five-year duration and also pay an additional €16.5 million annually. But that's where the certainty ends.

In other European countries and in EU committees in Brussels, however, the initiative has been positively viewed so far as a possible solution to the migration issue. However, it now turns out that the process is complicated. This particularly applies to Germany, which has continuous labor needs but not an endless influx of migrants dependent on state aid.

Germany has been trying to solve this "square of the circle" for several years. Berlin has found a solution in migrants for its problematic and always-hungry labor market. The question arose: how to "dose" their inflow? One of the long-standing plans was for the border countries of the European Union, in this sense the Western Balkans, to be, in some way, a large waiting area where migrants would wait for the German labor market to need an additional 100,000, 200,000, or maybe a million people.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama initially angrily rejected such a proposal. His country, he said, would never accept refugee camps for the European Union on its territory. Albania is not a place where you can dump desperate people like toxic waste that nobody wants, Rama said. And furthermore, the desire to turn Albania into a bulwark for European refugees is a dangerous solution. Even in exchange for EU membership, his country will not allow the establishment of refugee centers, the Albanian Prime Minister stated. What was not possible in 2018 has become possible today, although Rama himself sought to be consistent with his earlier statements. He emphasized that this agreement was exclusively with Italy and would not be applied to any other EU country.

Albania, incidentally, is a country that diligently comes to the aid of its closest Western allies, knowing that by doing so, they oblige them to reciprocate, since Albania itself is not the most attractive place in the world, so they would have to stand by it. Albania has, in the past, received prisoners from Guantanamo and Egyptian militants sent by the United States. The pinnacle of such a delicate relationship between Albania and its allies was the acceptance of around 3,500 members of the Iranian MEK, Mujahedin-e-Khalq organization, which actively fights against the current Iranian Government in Tehran. Albania has thus built a reputation as a "safe haven".

This time, Rama has extended a hand to a country that has traditionally played a significant, sometimes decisive role in the history of Albania. Italy can be said to be one of Albania's historical patrons, the first state that, through its occupation, united Albania and Kosovo during World War II, leaving an indelible mark on the national consciousness of Albanians. Therefore, this agreement has direct implications for Albania's current position by supporting and inevitably strengthening it. This applies to both the European Union and the overall situation in the Balkans marked by the strategy of elevating and expanding the statehood of Kosovo and Metohija, especially within the European Union.

In the early 1990s, many Albanians fled across the sea to Italy to escape the turmoil and instability after the fall of communist rule. In the years that followed, Italy continued to provide economic and financial assistance to Albania. Prime Minister Edi Rama summarized this special relationship between Albania and Italy in one sentence: "Italy calls, Albania responds", Rama said after the press conference with Meloni.

This is a "historic turning point not only for Italy but for the entire European Union", Giorgia Meloni said. For the first time, a third country has agreed to assist an EU member state in the asylum process. However, this is not a distant African country but an EU candidate country with friendly relations with Italy. The exact implications of this allegedly historic pact and its compatibility with European law will be discussed in due course.

The EU Commissioner responsible for migration, Ylva Johansson, has previously stated that the Rwanda model sought by Great Britain and Denmark is considered "completely unrealistic" and a "violation of human rights". She has made it clear that she believes that it would be a breach of EU law and the Geneva Convention on refugees to send asylum seekers who have arrived in Europe to Africa for processing. It is now important to clarify what the agreement with an EU candidate like Albania means, especially if the procedures remain in the hands of an EU member state. A significant unanswered question is whether Italy genuinely intends to grant full European asylum law to people smuggled into Albania, even though, strictly speaking, they were picked up outside the EU's borders.

In any case, Rama now has a strong supporter in Meloni regarding EU accession. "Albania is proving its full European maturity not only in words but also in deeds", Meloni said. Albania is ahead of the usual pace of EU bureaucracy.

The German Government has not yet commented on the Meloni-Rama agreement. However, Germany also wants to explore the possibility of asylum claims being submitted outside the EU, according to the German Government. But, as they added, "it is difficult to find countries willing to establish reception centers".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently stated that by 2030, 14 million employees from the "baby boomer" generation would retire in Germany. Who will replace them and how? Edi Rama is not only assisting Italy, which is the gateway for African migrants but also Germany, which is their usual ultimate destination. Since all Western Balkan countries are at various stages of the EU accession process, Rama's move will undoubtedly provide some advantages to Albania. Rama's precedent could easily have a broader European impact if it inspires European countries to continue in this direction and seek similar favor with other Western Balkan states.