What does Marco Minniti think of the agreement between Italy and Albania?
“The only precedent is with the United Kingdom-Rwanda in 2022. No migrants have been transferred so far. I would add: your concern was Albanian immigration. If it weren’t so serious, you could say: Britain wanted to bring the Albanians to Rwanda, we wanted to bring the Africans to Albania, that doesn’t seem to me to be evidence of great foresight.”
He had praised the Meloni line. Has he changed his mind?
“I had appreciated the idea of a pact with Africa, which included the Mattei plan, which became a European plan, the fight against human traffickers and routes for legal immigration. Two months later, in a scenario destabilized by the Hamas attack, the Eastern Mediterranean in flames and relations with moderate Arab countries having changed – elements that will all influence migration flows – it seems to me that the Tactics take precedence over strategy.”
There are those who consider the agreement legitimate and others who consider it a parody of Guantanamo. She?
“We will have to see how it is actually implemented.” First there was talk of two centers, then one. I do not want to give an authentic interpretation of Rama thought. But it seems to me that the gigantic unknown factor that takes extraterritoriality into account weighs heavily.”
The risk?
“An example: An asylum seeker has the right to appoint and speak to a lawyer. What will happen? Will the lawyers go to Albania? Will he come? Who will pay? I do not want this complicated administration to question the right to defense, especially of an asylum seeker. There is a risk that tensions with the judiciary will worsen.”
The idea is to solve everything in 28 days. Few?
“Hardly respectable times. In any case, one point seems to have become clear: either they will be repatriated quickly or they will return to Italy. The question of returns then returns to the countries of origin and thus the topic of Africa. Let’s look at the numbers: Over 145,000 have arrived and in the best case scenario there will be 4,000. What are these numbers all about?
In her opinion?
“It is clear that it is a buffer measure that follows the logic of the emergency.” But immigration is a structural fact of the planet. If this was the case before October 7th, this principle becomes even more important. Vital indeed. The EU must make its voice heard. Instead, this time too he chose not to play a role.
Selection?
“It was difficult for the Council of Europe to mediate during the humanitarian pauses, but then the EU was unable to present a unified position in the UN Assembly. And at the time of the vote, it was divided into three parts: one party was in favor of Jordan’s motion, one abstained, another was against it. The sign of a lack of influence.”
The government justifies the agreement with record pressure. Was the EU’s decision too slow?
“He missed a number of opportunities. At the latest at the extraordinary summit in Malaga, where the aim was to present the economic support plan for Africa and the proposal for a pact with the African Union and the United Nations to combat illegal migration flows and to build legal routes. “If these decisions had been taken before October 7th, Europe would have built a bridge of trust towards Africa and the Mediterranean, which would be of great value in the face of the current storm.”
Germany is also considering a similar agreement. Is he wrong?
“In these questions no one is saved alone. And the EU cannot avoid all this, because a large part of its destiny is tied to Africa. The later he understands this, the worse it will be for Europe. I do not want the idea of the Albanian hotspot to be an abandonment of this strategy. But I remember what a great Chinese general, Sun Zu, who lived several centuries before the birth of Christ, said: “Strategy without tactics is the longest road to victory, tactics without strategy is the background noise of defeat.”