The Constitutional Court of Albania approved a controversial agreement with Italy that provides for the creation of two centers for refugees on Albanian soil under Italian management. The court announced this today.
The agreement, signed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, in Rome in November, provides for the reception of up to 3,000 people rescued by Italian ships per month.
People with special needs, such as the elderly, children and pregnant women, migrants and refugees rescued by ships managed by NGOs, as well as people disembarking directly on Italian soil, are excluded from the agreement.
Two camps planned
In December, the Albanian Constitutional Court suspended the Albanian Parliament's ratification of the agreement, pending a decision on the challenge to the plan.
The two camps in Albania would be under Italian jurisdiction and operated by Italian personnel. In one of them, people will be checked upon arrival and, in the other, they will live while their asylum applications are processed.