Rama, generous or calculated: What they say in Germany about Albania-Italy agreement for migrants

Migration expert Ruud Coopmans, who has been proposing the shift of host centres abroad for years EU-that he told the DA that Melon-Rama agreement That would be historic. Koopmans said model Albania can also apply in other safe third places, such as in Northern Macedonia. But he noted, that the fact that Rama-Melon agreement It is a bilateral agreement, there is the risk of a “secondary migration”, which means, that rejected asylum seekers can try to cross the border and seek asylum in another EU country. For that to not happen, Albania and Italy They must seek support from the EU to turn this agreement into multilateral agreements.

Scup of Melon

If there is a real desire for the EU to join Melon's agreement with Rama, as Koopmans suggests, this is not yet known. First Reactions From BrusselsThey were reserved. Ass Germany The official refused to comment on the agreement. A government spokeswoman responded by reminding him of the decision made on the Chancellor Olaf Scholz's meeting with the heads of 16 countries Federal to arrange for asylum procedures to be passed on to countries outside the EU. That's why politicians are particularly insisting the conservative opposition and the party liberal One of three ruling centre-left coalition parties. Some of these politicians had mentioned Albania as an option, but the preferences were for asylum seekers to submit their demand for asylum in African countries. Because that is how asylum seekers refused to be spared the long - distance ordeals across the Mediterranean.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz over His last visit to Ghana and Nigeria He said it is difficult to find places that are willing to take over such centers. The EU had recently made a similar deal with Tunisia, but in summer it returned the money deposited for the construction of centres. A similar deal of Great Britain with Rwanda was declared illegal by a London trial because Rwanda is not a safe place.

Melon's Skopje? 

Before this background, there are many voices in Germany that look with a measure of envy at Rama's agreement with Melon. The Bahvarese newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine” writes that “who calls this Melon stock, one Italian GuantanamoIt's too short. If the EU wants to prevent such uniform steps as Melon's, it should see that the asylum package presented by itself for many years will finally be realised. Because migration is a matter of destiny for Europe. It's about how much isolation we can afford without betraying our values. And how much isolation should we allow ourselves to stem the seemingly unstoppable rise of extremist right and left parties in Europe”.

However, the agreement with Melon has a priority, said about DA Ruud Coopmans: Italy will send to Albania, only persons that have not violated Italy's territory but caught in the waters off Italian coasts. On these occasions, Italy is only obliged to transfer refugees to a safe port”, the expert explains. “If they were sent once to Italy and then to Albania, this would conflict with rules for EU asylum procedures, under which asylum seekers could only return to third countries with which they previously had a relationship. Therefore, even migrants who entered Italy via the Sahara cannot be sent to Albania,” says Coopmans.

Demostation for Migration?

Koopmans himself, however, recalls that it is still unclear what will happen to the rejected refugees. Under the deal, they will be repatriated, but in practice this is not very easy, because many countries of origin do not co-operate and do not prepare the documents needed for repatriation. Migration expert at Lost University in Berlin It predicts this will be the main challenge for Albania. But Koopmans says that the fact that refugees will receive documents in Albania rather than Italy would decompose them to spend so much on smugglers and risk their lives and cross The Mediterranean.

But Koopmans is the only one of the experts who thinks, that a camp in Albania will have any threatening or demotive effects on refugees. In fact, according to the deal Italy needs to take over after some time, even asylum seekers who refuse to be reborn, but Albania's interior minister, Taulant Balla, told DI that it is not known how long these procedures can last.

In an interview for “Die ZEIT” migration expert Gerald Knaus gives two scenarios for denied asylum seekers: “Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, will soon face two scenarios. “Or, and this is the hardest, refugees will take the road north, through Balkan route.” Pellumb Nako, who has served for many years as border and migration director in Albania's Police, also told the DI, that Albania is very close. The EU, and northern countries, to intimidate migrants from coming to Europe. He told the DA that the agreement will not bring solutions for refugees, but it is of political significance because it shows Albania's readiness to help Italy overcome this difficult phase.

Generous Rama or Calculator? 

The German daily newspaper “tageszeitung” doubts in this popular terrestrial by the Albanian government, which Rama has summed up with the already much quoted sentence: “When Italy calls, Albania answers”. “This generosity is not for Rama, who is a clever politician. Albania's EU membership process has opened since 2022, but the road is still long and not without obstacles. Italy has promised 100% support for Tirana. The coming months will show whether it is only this favor, with which Italy is rewarding this generosity of Albania. ”

And after all, Tas doubts that this agreement will be realised: “Italy is certainly politically prepared to ignore the rights of those seeking protection. But EU law determines exactly where and how asylum seekers should be accommodated. There are no plans to move to another country and keep them locked up there. So it remains questionable, if Melon's agreement will be able to overcome Strasbourg”, concludes “taz”. /done welle/