First migrants arrive in Albania under contested Italy deal

The first migrants sent by Rome to Albania under a controversial deal that is being closely watched in Europe arrived Wednesday, though just hours later four of them had to be sent to Italy.

The 16 males from Bangladesh and Egypt disembarked from an Italian navy vessel in the port of Shengjin three days after they were intercepted in the Mediterranean.

The men were escorted in small groups to the gates of a new processing centre where their asylum requests will be handled.

But two of the migrants from Bangladesh claimed to be minors, a category classed as vulnerable under Italian law, while another two were considered "fragile", a government source in Rome told AFP.

That meant they could not stay in the centre and all four were being sent to Italy, the source said.

Italy's far-right Prime Minister Georgia Meloni vowed to cut the number of people crossing from North Africa when she took office in 2022.

Rome has boasted that the Albania deal is attracting interest within the European Union.

Amnesty International has, however, called the centres a "cruel experiment (that) is a stain on the Italian government".

And critics slammed as "absurd" the fact that four of the first 16 migrants had to be sent to Italy.

'European dream ends here'

Italy will run two centres in Albania surrounded by high walls and security cameras, one in Shengjin and the other in Gjader, 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

The centres will be operated under Italian law, with Italian security and staff, with judges hearing asylum request cases by video from Rome.

Migrants will be registered and undergo health checks in Shengjin before being transferred to the Gjader centre where they will be housed in 12 square metre (129 square feet) temporary cabins.

On Wednesday, several civil rights activists gathered near the centre in Shengjin carrying a large banner that read in English: "The European Dream Ends Here."

They also held photos of Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama dressed as police officers.

Rights groups question whether there will be sufficient protection for asylum seekers and have expressed doubts as to whether the centres are allowed under international law.

Meloni brushed aside criticism on Tuesday calling the centres "a new, courageous, unprecedented path" that could be used in other non-EU nations.

The arrangement is a European first, which other leaders in the region are watching closely.

Migration is a key topic at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Meanwhile, Greece said it would push for a "European solution" to migrant arrivals, saying that "bilateral accords will lead nowhere".

'Draw lessons'

In a letter to member states ahead of the talks, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc would "be able to draw lessons" from the Italy-Albania accord.

Meloni and Rama agreed on the project in November 2023. Set to last five years, it will cost Italy an estimated 160 million euros ($175 million) a year.

That money "could have been used for public health to reduce waiting lists, but we are throwing it out the window to deport migrants and trample on their rights," opposition leader Elly Schlein said Wednesday.

The centres will have an initial capacity of 1,000 people that could reach 3,000.

Vulnerable migrants -- such as women and children -- will be taken to Italy rather than Albania.

The scheme sparked a heated debate in the Italian parliament Wednesday, with lawmaker Alfonso Colucci from the opposition Five Star Movement saying Italy had paid "around 18,000 euros per migrant" to transfer 16 people to Albania.

"Over the last three days, more than 1,600 migrants have landed in Italy," migration researcher Matteo Villa of Datalab Europe posted on X. "An Italian navy vessel is taking 16 to Albania."

"I don't think I need to add anything else."