After drifting at sea, hundreds of migrants reach the Italian coast. They come from fear, from risking everything in search of a better future because the present is unbearable. But when they arrive in Italy believing that everything will be better, the government puts them back on a boat to send them home. detention centers that Italy built in a town in northwest Albania.
The compound is closed and heavily militarized. The rooms are not rooms, they are barred barracks and, looking at the images, anyone would say that it is a prison rather than a place for migrants.
This is the center to which the Italian government Giorgia Meloni already sends migrants who arrive on its shores. Without going any further, this Wednesday the first 16 people who are traveling on an Italian navy ship.
There they will be identified, a health check and those who meet the conditions can submit a applying for asylum in the European Union. However, if they are refused, they will be deported. The truth is that all this management will be carried out in a country that does not belong to the EU: Albania.
What is clear is that Meloni wanted to get rid of the migrants and he achieved this thanks to a agreement with Albaniaa decision that the Italian Prime Minister considers “courageous”. “It is a new, courageous and unprecedented path, but which perfectly reflects the European spirit,” commented Meloni.
Von Der Leyen takes inspiration from Meloni and his migrant center
That same Tuesday, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced her intention to “explore possible avenues” and create migrant deportation centers irregulars outside the Community territory while their cases are resolved in the Union.
In this context, Von der Leyen is open to solutions that she defines as “innovative“to move towards the creation of expulsion centers to transfer irregular migrants who have already arrived on European soil outside the EU, while their files are being processed, even if this option has already been excluded in the past by Brussels due to collision with the rights of asylum seekers.
Indeed, Von der Leyen mentions as an example in her letter that she sent to EU leaders, the agreement negotiated by the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni with Albania to open centers in that country to transfer migrants who have already requested asylum in Italy while their applications are processed. “With the start of protocol operations between Italy and Albania, we will be able to learn from this practical experience,” said the Commission President.
Spanish government rejects Von Der Leyen’s idea
For his part, The Spanish government has expressed its rejection to the idea of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who believes that the European Union should create deportation centers for irregular migrants outside the Community territory while their cases are resolved within the Union .
The government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, was direct this Tuesday during the press conference of the Council of Ministers, during which she assured that “Spain has expressed its position against the creation of centers in the countries and we will continue to defend immigration in Europe.” and the asylum pact.
“Spain will continue to work on this line of regular and safe migration and to work with the countries of origin and transit. And against this mafia which traffics with these people,” he added. Furthermore, he defended that “migration policy in Spain works. “We have managed to correct 40% of irregular departures from these countries.”
Alegría thus opposed this “solution” which will be presented at the summit of EU leaders this Thursday in Brussels and which follows the line set out in a letter from 14 countries of the bloc, among which was not Spain but France, Italy and Germany, asking to speed up expulsions.
