Italy has announced it will withdraw a large number of staff from its controversial migrant reception centers in Albania. Will the expensive test balloon finally fail?
As several Italian media unanimously reported, a month and a half after the refugee camps came into use, most of the employees of the Medihospes company, which is responsible for operating and managing the centers, are leaving Albania this weekend.
Only seven company employees remain in the camps on Albanian territory. In addition, some Albanian employees, mainly medical staff, and an unknown number of Italian police officers remain.
According to the ANSA news agency, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome reported that staff numbers had been reduced, but the camps remained open and operational. The accommodations are largely empty.
Meloni’s plan fails because of justice
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had recently failed twice in its plan to have decisions made on the asylum applications of Mediterranean migrants outside the EU. Courts have lifted the detention of migrants in the camps twice in a row after authorities stopped them in the Mediterranean on their way to Europe. They were then transferred to Italy.
Italy is the first country in the European Union to set up camps outside the EU borders to process asylum applications in an accelerated procedure and under Italian law. The ‘Albania model’ of Prime Minister Meloni’s right-wing government is controversial. However, other European governments are following closely.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
