On 6 November, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with her Albanian counterpart at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, BiEPAG reports.
Meetings between representatives of the two countries have become more frequent recently. Meloni and Rama have friendly relations, despite the fact that they lead two political parties that theoretically should be different, as Giorgia Meloni is the leader of the Italian far-right Brothers of Italy and Edi Rama heads the Socialist Party of Albania.
Albania and Italy have a close partnership due to common historical events as well as geographical proximity. Despite the friendly and diplomatic relations, the two leaders signed another formal agreement on Monday that has drawn criticism on both sides of the Adriatic.
The “Memorandum of Understanding” or simply the “Migration Management Protocol”, as the Albanian government calls it, was made available to the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania immediately one day after its signing, according to BiEPAG.
The prospect of Albania’s accession to the European Union, as well as the “common interests and aspirations” of both countries related to “the problems and prevention of irregular migration” are identified as important grounds for the protocol, identified in its preamble among other bilateral agreements signed between Italy and Albania in the past.
In general, the protocol grants Italy jurisdiction over part of Albania’s territory for the construction of so-called “migrant processing centres” for a period of five years, renewable. The Italian authorities, who are assuming the financial burden of the project, claim that they will manage these structures in accordance with EU law. However, as the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) notes, “there is no information on how these commitments will be honoured” and what exactly their functionality and purpose will be.
In ECRE’s view, what the agreement legally refers to as “staying” of migrants in the centres could be interpreted as “automatic application of detention”, which is illegal. Moreover, the agreement clearly states that refugees will be prohibited from leaving the camps and entering Albania, even when their formalisation is completed. Furthermore, the document does not take into account the possible outcomes and further procedures related to the return of people to their country of origin or to other countries. The document also does not take into account the fact that extraterritorial processing is not allowed, BiEPAG reports.
Prime Minister Edi Rama was criticised for signing the agreement without prior consultation with the Albanian Parliament and without informing the Albanian public and media about it. Moreover, the head of the Albanian government has no authority to sign protocols on behalf of the Republic of Albania without the approval of the Parliament and the President of the Republic of Albania.
However, this is not the first time that Edi Rama has single-handedly taken such global decisions independently of the rule of law, without public consultation or discussion, to transfer jurisdiction over part of the territory of the Republic of Albania to Italy for a project that Amnesty International has labelled “illegal” and “impractical”. In response to the signed protocol, the UNHCR emphasised the importance of respecting international migration law, pending discussion of further details with representatives of both Albania and Italy. Finally, the European Commission was apparently not informed of the deal in advance.
Moreover, recognising Italy’s jurisdiction over part of Albanian territory grossly violates Albanian sovereignty. The agreement is not only illegal and xenophobic, but also invasive, as it repeats Italy’s previous colonial tendencies towards Albania. The last time Italy had jurisdiction over Albania was when Benito Mussolini was in power.
Prime Minister Rama and those close to him are trying to present the agreement between the two countries as Albania returning a “favour” for Italy’s hosting of Albanian migrants in the 90s and as Albania gaining another ally to vouch for its EU integration, while dismissing any voices criticising the decision by presenting them as “xenophobic”.
Italy’s attitude towards immigrants has not changed much from the 1990s. Back then, Italian authorities would push back or sink boats carrying Albanians sailing to Italian shores. This was the case in the Otranto tragedy, when the Italian corvette Sibilla sank the Albanian vessel Kateri i Rades, killing 84 Albanians, including infants. To this day, family members of the victims continue to demand justice from the Italian State, according to BiEPAG.
Secondly, this bilateral project should not be used as a leverage to pressure Italy to support Albania’s EU accession process or be seen as an indirect condition for Albania’s advancement to the EU. First of all, Albania’s accession to the EU is decided by the EU Commission, not by Italy. Moreover, the possible integration of Albania into the EU, as well as other Western Balkan countries, should not be perceived as a favour that the EU and EU member states can do to Albania and the Western Balkans. Furthermore, Albania’s path to the EU should not involve violating international law and undermining Albania’s territorial sovereignty, especially if it is in co-operation with an EU member state.
Prime Minister Rama agreed to sign a bilateral protocol not just with the Prime Minister of Italy, but with the leader of the far-right, which is the Prime Minister of Italy, thus directly participating in creating conditions for the forced movement of migrants and asylum seekers. Such a step contradicts not only the 1951 Geneva Convention, but also the ideology of the Socialist Party of Albania – a facade of socialism behind which Edi Rama has created the image of a progressive, while in fact his actions reveal him as a semi-authoritarian leader with conservative tendencies.
Albania is not in a position to participate in a project that requires great responsibility, even if the agreement between Prime Minister Meloni and Prime Minister Rama would be legal and ethical. Albania is a semi-authoritarian country without the rule of law, with the poorest economy in the region. Since the country does not meet even the basic requirements for a decent standard of living, not only migrants passing through Albania, but even the majority of Albanians themselves do not want to stay in Albania.
Italy and the EU have one common problem, the problem of migration, which needs to be solved, but deporting migrants to developing countries like Albania or to third world countries is not a solution. Albania cannot be seen as Europe’s “ghetto” where it throws all the problems it does not want to deal with. Albania deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, not dragged into the EU’s appeasement strategy towards yet another semi-authoritarian leader in the Balkans, all against the backdrop of a real humanitarian crisis.
