Friday, October 18, 2024

Italy’s Meloni faces big setback over migrant camps in Albania

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She has called a cabinet meeting for next Monday.

Although the EU says irregular migration has fallen this year – by 64% this year via the Central Mediterranean route – governments across Europe are under pressure to curb the number of arrivals.

The Italian agreement with Albania is aimed at processing and then repatriating about 3,000 irregular migrants rescued from the Mediterranean a month in two camps.

But the estimated €800m (£666m) cost has drawn criticism from opposition leaders such as Elly Schlein of the Democratic Party who said it could have been spent on healthcare.

The deal does not include women or children, and the first group of men arrived in Albania on Wednesday on board an Italian navy ship, three days after they were part of a group of 85 people picked up at sea.

There were 10 men from Bangladesh and six from Egypt on board the Libra, but that number was swiftly reduced from 16 to 12, because health screenings assessed that two were children and two were vulnerable.

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