Two reception centers in Albania ready to work with migrants sent by Italy

(Patria) - Two reception centers built in Albania to receive migrants arriving in Italy opened their doors on Friday, an Italian official said, as part of an agreement between the two countries aimed at curbing irregular migration to the European Union, Reuters reported.

The agreement is the first example of a non-EU country hosting migrants on behalf of an EU nation and has attracted interest from other Western countries looking to discourage the growing number of migrants arriving from Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

"As of today, these two centers are operational," said the Italian official, who wished to remain anonymous in the port town of Shengjin on Albania's Adriatic coast, where one of the facilities is located.

The 2023 agreement with Albania provides that irregular migrants arriving in Italy will be transported by boat to Shengjin, where their asylum claims will be identified and processed.

They will then be taken a short distance inland to the small town of Gjadër, where they will be housed.

Around 500 Italian personnel, including prison guards, police, soldiers and carabinieri, will be stationed at both camps.

"Everything you see here is under Italian jurisdiction. It's practically as if you were in Italy," the official told Reuters at the Gjadër center, which can currently accommodate about 400 people.

When completed, in a few weeks, the center in Gjadër will have a capacity for 3,000 people. Albanians will work there, with the exception of security, which will be Italian. The center consists of two sections, one for migrants awaiting processing of their asylum claims, and one for migrants awaiting deportation after their asylum claims have been rejected.

Under the agreement, Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries and an EU candidate, cannot host more than 3,000 migrants at any one time.