"We will open on August 1", Meloni's promise is postponed indefinitely, the immigrant centers in Shengjin are not ready

2024-08-01 10:59:20Politikë SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"We will open on August 1", Meloni's promise is postponed
Edi Rama and Giorgia Meloni

The opening date of the Italian immigrant centers in Albania is postponed again.

This is what the Italian media "Tgcom24" writes.

When she visited the site where the centers are being built in June, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced that August 1 would be the day the structures were put into operation.

"They will be operational from August 1, 2024. We will do it successfully. The two months of delay were caused by the somewhat difficult terrain in Gjadër," Meloni said on June 5, 2024, during her visit to Albania.

But in reality it will still take a few weeks for the centers to be activated, said a few days ago the undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, explaining that the delays are due to "slowdowns" of the works.

The agreement between the Italian and Albanian governments for housing immigrants was signed on November 6 of last year.

The pact signed by Prime Minister Rama and his counterpart Giorgia Meloni envisages the creation of two centers for the identification and reception of immigrants managed by the Italian authorities on Albanian soil, one near the port of Shengjin in the north of the country, and the other inland, in Gjadër.

Up to 3,000 migrants can be housed inside the camps, and as the pact stipulates there they will have to await decisions on whether or not they can set foot on Italian territory or, otherwise, be repatriated at Rome's expense. 

The Italian government intends that in the camps that will be opened in Albania, people rescued by the authorities at sea will be sent, that is, not those who are rescued by non-governmental organizations. Meanwhile, the Italian media reports that the value of the project is expected to be around 34 million euros.

To this value must be added reimbursements for transport services, utilities, waste collection, ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, Wi-Fi connection and healthcare.

However, the pact signed between the two countries has caused harsh reactions both from the Albanian opposition and from the Italian opposition, since according to them this agreement violates human rights.


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