According to the data of the European Statistics Agency (EUROSTAT), 4 thousand Albanian citizens with irregular residence were forced to leave a country of the European Union in the first six months of this year, following a police order.
Meanwhile, according to the data of the Albanian Ministry of the Interior, another 1120 Albanian citizens with irregular residence and criminal convictions were repatriated from Great Britain to Albania.
According to the authorities of the European Union, only a quarter of the Albanian citizens have returned voluntarily, while the rest have been repatriated to Albania under the escort of the police of European countries and the Albanian police.
According to official data, 3085 Albanian citizens have been repatriated accompanied by the police through air transport or land borders, 650 have returned voluntarily, while 265 have been assisted by international organizations in their voluntary return with support for ensuring the cost of transportation.
Meanwhile, the 1120 Albanian citizens returned from England have all been accompanied by the police forces of both countries, in 25 repatriation operations carried out by air transport.
According to Eurostat data, most of the forced returns of Albanians took place from Greece, France, Germany and Italy.
The data show that last year 8 thousand 135 Albanian citizens were repatriated to Albania, with irregular stay in one of the countries of the European Union.
In terms of number, Albanians, during the last two years, rank second after Georgians in the repatriation operations of European Union countries for irregular foreigners. /VOA