The detention centers for migrants in Shengjin and Gjader, in Albania, the result of the agreement between Rome and Tirana, are a source of inspiration for the president of the European Commission, who marks the beginning of the new mandate with the crackdown on irregular immigration.
Migrant centers in Albania are a useless (and harmful) waste of money
Ursula von der Leyen, who already last December had blessed the Italian border externalization project (“it is in line with community law”), wrote to European leaders in view of the European Council of 17-18 October to evaluate the opportunity to establish “hubs for repatriations outside the EU, especially in view of the new legislation on repatriation”. And he did so by citing the agreement signed between Italy and Albania, to be considered as a possible model to follow. “With the start of the operations envisaged by the Italy-Albania protocol, we will also be able to draw practical lessons”, specified the number one of the Commission in the letter sent to the EU leaders.
Praise for the pacts for the externalization of European borders
The ultimate objective would therefore be to open hubs for migrants in third countries with which the EU has signed agreements, where refugees’ asylum requests can be processed. This is perhaps the plan of von der Leyen’s project: to transfer people who are already on the territory of the European Union outside the EU borders.
However, an ad hoc legal system must first be established. Because, as specified by a Commission spokesperson, “it is not legally possible” to forcibly repatriate migrants from third countries. Therefore, there must be a “European law to regulate forced repatriation to a third country other than the country of origin”. In this sense, the Commission will review “the concept of designated safe third countries within the next year”.
The president of the European executive highlighted the need to accelerate the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, approved with difficulty last May, from which the governments of the Netherlands and Hungary have already made it known that they want an exemption.
The controversial agreements with “unsafe” countries
Von der Leyen did not fail to praise the EU’s controversial agreements with Tunisia and joint work with Libyan authorities, which have been widely condemned by human rights groups. The Commission leader even stated that irregular arrivals on the central Mediterranean route have decreased by two thirds in 2024, thanks – according to von der Leyen – to the agreements that the EU has signed with third countries.
River of money to Tunisia to stop the departures of migrants
The migration issue is still a hot topic in the EU bloc, influencing elections in most European countries and increasing the sentiment of far-right voters. Germany, worried about a negative public response to irregular immigration before next September’s elections, has introduced border controls with all its neighbors, suspending freedom of movement in the Schengen zone. France, Denmark, Sweden, Austria and Slovenia have also introduced border controls.