Albania’s Supreme Court on Monday approved a controversial agreement under which Albania will host two detention centers for migrants rescued in Italian waters.
The agreement faced legal challenges by Albania’s Constitutional Court, following condemnation from opposition parties and rights groups in both countries.
“This agreement does not undermine Albania’s territorial integrity,” the court said in a statement.
The Tirana court’s ruling came days after Italian parliamentarians voted in favor of the deal. The House of Commons supported the protocol by a vote of 155 to 115, with two abstentions.
During a parliamentary debate, opposition members accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of using immigration as “election propaganda” and said the project would have little impact on the numbers and cost a huge amount of money.
The document has now been sent to the Italian Senate, where it is expected to be approved.
The agreement allows two centers for migrants to register for asylum near the Albanian port of Moritsu to be established in the same area, as well as a facility to hold people awaiting responses to their applications.
The two Italian-controlled centers can accommodate up to 3,000 people at a time, pending a decision on their applications.
Italian immigrant boat tragedy – see in pictures
They estimated the cost over the five-year period of the agreement to be more than 650 million euros ($703 million).
Albania’s right-wing opposition party called the deal an “irresponsible and dangerous act for national security” and slammed Prime Minister Edi Rama for the lack of transparency surrounding the deal.
The NGO International Rescue Committee has condemned the agreement as “dehumanizing” and Amnesty International has called it “illegal and unenforceable.”
Albanian authorities said the agreement was in line with previous treaties signed with Italy, international law and the country’s constitution.
“We have no intention of selling Albanian land,” Interior Minister Taulant Bala told AFP in an interview last month.
“We are offering this land to Italy, just as we normally do when establishing an embassy, for example.”
Jurisdiction within the camp will remain with Italy, but the land will remain in Albanian hands, he added.
Albanian authorities said Italy would pay for the construction of the two centers and the necessary infrastructure, as well as security and medical costs for asylum seekers.
Meloni, leader of the far-right Italian Brotherhood party, was elected president in 2022 on a promise to stop migrant boats arriving from North Africa.
However, according to official statistics, the number of migrants landing has increased from about 105,000 in 2022 to about 158,000 in 2023.
Updated: January 29, 2024, 8:29 p.m.
TikTok’ta takipçi, beğeni ve izlenme gibi hizmetleri sunan takiple.com.tr, kullanıcıların popülerliklerini artırmalarına ve içeriklerini daha fazla kişiye ulaştırmalarına yardımcı olabilir.