Albania to host migrants arriving to Italy pending processing of asylum applications

The initiative was announced after Italian Premier, Giorgia Meloni, met in Rome with Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.

Transcript

00:00 Roman Tirana have agreed to set up temporary centers in Albania to house asylum seekers

00:06 in a bid to manage migration flows.

00:10 The prospective centers will accommodate up to 3,000 people.

00:14 Those allocated to Albania will be rescued at sea by Italian boats, however the plan

00:19 excludes pregnant women, children and vulnerable individuals.

00:24 Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says the initiative will help relieve chronic

00:28 overcrowding at initial asylum processing centers in Italy, where over the last years

00:33 hundreds of thousands of migrants have set foot after making risky sea voyages across

00:38 the Mediterranean.

00:41 The project was announced after Meloni met Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Rome.

00:47 "These structures will initially accommodate up to 3,000 people who will remain in these

00:55 centers, obviously the time necessary to quickly exploit the procedures for the processing

01:00 of asylum applications and eventually for the purposes of the repatriation."

01:07 Critics of the plan have accused Meloni of creating an Italian Guantanamo outside of

01:11 the EU without the possibility of monitoring the detention status of the people locked

01:15 up.

01:18 This comes as the UK government is challenged in the courts over its plan to send asylum

01:22 seekers to hotel-like accommodation in Rwanda.

01:26 Under the British plan, people regarded as illegal immigrants or asylum seekers will

01:30 be relocated to the African country for processing.

01:34 Those who are successful in claiming asylum will have to remain in Rwanda.

01:39 [MUSIC PLAYING]