Migrants, the "Albania model" divides the EU: "Better to focus on repatriations"

Migrants, the “Albania model” divides the EU: “Better to focus on repatriations”

The proposal to extend on a European scale what Italy has done with Albania, i.e. the creation of “hubs” or “disembarkation platforms” in third countries for the management of irregular migrants, divides EU member states. The initiative, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, found the support of the Netherlands and Denmark, and the interest of at least eight other countries in the bloc. But France and Belgium, among others, do not seem interested in following the “model” of Rome and Tirana.

The search for an EU agreement

Shortly before the start of the Brussels summit, Meloni, together with the Danish leader Mette Frederiksen and the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, promoted an informal meeting which was also attended by the leaders of Greece, Cyprus, Austria, Malta, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. With them also the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Nearly all participants signed a joint letter in May calling on the Commission to forge stronger partnerships with countries along migration routes and strengthen return policies for those not entitled to international protection. Among the lines of the letter, the creation of centers in non-EU states to send irregular migrants and manage asylum applications from there. Von der Leyen’s response arrived just on the eve of the Brussels summit: the Commission leader underlined the agreement reached by Rome and Tirana, inviting member states to explore the “practical lessons” that could be drawn from this agreement.

The doubts of France and Belgium

The agreement between Italy and Albania “I believe that for now it concerns 19 people (16 in reality, ed.). History has shown that these solutions do not lead to great results. It may be that in the future they lead to greater results. For now, it is expensive and the volumes are small, but we will see in the coming months”, cut short Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo. While France, according to Elysée sources, would prefer to encourage repatriations (“when conditions permit”) rather than commit to the construction of “hubs in third countries”. For De Croo, the hubs risk being a hole in the water: “What works are the agreements with third countries which also concern investments in renewable energy, as we have done with Egypt, Mauritania, Tunisia Belgium has done some with Morocco. These things work: irregular flows have significantly decreased”, he assures.

Among the significant absences from the pre-summit meeting, in addition to that of France, we note those of Germany and Spain. Even among those who participated in the restricted meeting wanted by Meloni, doubts about the hubs remain: “I would like to be cautious. It is a bilateral agreement. I don’t know if it can be replicated at a European level. We also need to see if it really works”, he declared Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in an interview with the Financial Times.

On Thursday afternoon, Meloni returned to the attack on the topic by speaking at the table of EU leaders: the prime minister underlined how “the Italian agreement with Albania” can also be a “deterrent against traffickers who can no longer ensure certain destinations to migrants”. For this reason, it is necessary to “continue working on partnerships with the countries of origin and transit, offering among other incentives that of legal migration”, added Meloni, according to diplomatic sources.