Albania’s Constitutional Court announced suspending the ratification of a migrant agreement with Italy, scheduled for Thursday, after the opposition filed a lawsuit claiming the deal violates the constitution and international conventions, according to Euractiv.
The Albanian Democratic Party and 28 other deputies filed two appeals alleging that the Rome Agreement between Meloni and Rama violated national and constitutional law, as well as a number of international agreements and treaties.
The appeals claim that the nature and terms of the agreement exceed the scope of a mere protocol between the two governments, as Albania has relinquished its sovereignty over the territory designated for detention centres. The President of the Albanian Court, Holta Zaçaj, stated:
The panel of judges that met today considered that the appeals submitted met the required criteria and decided to examine them in the plenary session. This automatically means that the parliamentary procedures for ratifying the agreement are suspended.
Therefore, the parliamentary ratification of the agreement is suspended until the Court’s judgement, which has three months to issue a ruling. The first Court session is scheduled for January 18 next year.
Italian Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, stated that some media outlets overestimated the real budget for the construction of migrant centres in Albania.
“The clarification of resources is ongoing in the ministerial structures, but they should be seen as investments in managing migration policies. There will then be compensation for the costs burdening the reception system due to the massive arrivals of migrants.”
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October. According to the paper, the two centres in northern Albania will assess and process asylum seekers and refugees rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by Italian vessels.
The facilities would be constructed, financed and operated by Italy, under Italian jurisdiction, fully enclosed, guarded by Italian authorities and Albanian police on the outside. They would accommodate up to 3,000 people at a time, up to an annual maximum of 36,000.
The assembly was due to vote on the law this week, with the president to ratify it.
At the moment, Meloni attends the EU-Western Balkans summit, which also hosts Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Albania’s top diplomat is expected to be in Rome on Sunday to address the Atreju, the annual conference of Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia (ECR) party.
