The European Union can “draw lessons” from Italy’s disputed policy on processing migrants abroad in Albania, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, as leaders of the 27 member states hold an EU summit focused on migration.
Ahead of the Brussels summit, she wrote to EU leaders to say the EU executive would introduce a new proposal for legislation to increase migrant deportations.
Italy began sending some migrants to a processing center in Albania earlier this week.
16 men were transported to the Albanian port of Shengjin on Wednesday, but hours after their arrival it turned out that two of them were minors and two others were in poor health and would therefore be sent back to Italy.
Other EU countries have begun to look at ways to process migrants in third countries.
The Dutch government said on Wednesday that it was considering a plan to send rejected asylum seekers to Uganda.
By framing this week’s summit around the issue of migration, Von der Leyen – who is starting a second five-year term as European Commission president – appears to be responding to pressures on migration from across Europe.
In her letter to member states, von der Leyen said the return rate of irregular migrants from EU countries is currently only around 20% – meaning that the vast majority of people asked to leave an EU member state do not do so.
All member states must recognize decisions taken by other EU countries to ensure that “migrants who have a return decision against them in one country cannot exploit loopholes in the system to avoid returning elsewhere,” von der Leyen wrote.
Under the Italy-Albania scheme, some migrants rescued in the Mediterranean will be sent to Albania where their asylum claims will be examined.
The two processing centres, costing around €650m (£547m), were due to open last spring but have faced long delays. They have been paid for by the Italian government and will be operated under Italian law.
It will house the migrants while Italy considers their asylum applications. Pregnant women, children and vulnerable people will be excluded from the plan.
Political opponents of right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as several NGOs have criticized Italy’s deal with Albania.
Ricardo Maggi, an MP for the left-wing Europe+ party, said Albania’s scheme was “cruel, useless and expensive”, while the NGO Doctors Without Borders said it was “likely to lead to further harm and human rights violations”.
Civil rights activists gathered near the Italian-built center in Shengjin, holding a large banner that read: “The European dream ends here.”
However, in her speech to MPs on Tuesday, Meloni said the plan was a “new, brave and unprecedented path” that “fully reflects the European spirit”.
The implementation and outcomes of the Albania Agreement will be closely watched by several EU member states, many of which have tried to respond to rising support for far-right parties by toughening their rhetoric and approach to migration.
In the past few weeks alone, Germany has reimposed land border checks, the French government said it would consider tightening immigration legislation, and Poland announced a plan to temporarily suspend asylum for people who cross the border.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the controversial move was aimed at preventing Belarus from “destabilizing” Poland by allowing large numbers of migrants into the country.
In France and Germany, it was horrific murders that prompted demands for tougher measures on immigration. A rejected Syrian asylum seeker stabbed three people to death in Solingenwhile A young student was killed by a Moroccan citizen near Paris. In both cases, the killings were carried out by men who had been issued expulsion orders but were not carried out.
Last month, 15 member states signed a proposal from Austria and the Netherlands to improve the “efficiency” of the deportation system.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”