The centres built by the Italian government in Albania are ready to host migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, eleven months after the agreement between the two countries was signed.
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Up to 400 people will initially be sent there. Exclusively male, these migrants will have been rescued by Italian ships in the Mediterranean Sea before being transported to the coastal Albanian town of Shengjin.
Here, a centre ran by Italian staff has been set up. Interpreters, medicals visits and the possibility of applying for asylum are guaranteed.
The main section is meant to house asylum seekers while their requests are being processed.
Applications must be completed within 28 days, according to the accelerated procedure foreseen in Italian law. During this time, applicants will be able to meet lawyers and staff from international organizations.
All costs to be met by Italy
Those who are not entitled to asylum will end up in another part of the camp. There are dozens of places in this centre, but if the capacity is exceeded the migrants will be transferred to Italy before being repatriated to their countries of origin.
There is also a prison, with a capacity of 20 places, for migrants who commit crimes. However, the entire centre of Gjadër is in fact a place of forced detention, fenced off and monitored by Italian police officers.
Asylum seekers who have their request accepted will be transferred to Italy with a residence permit. Those who receive a refusal will be repatriated, always at the expense and under the responsibility of Italy.
Tens of millions of euros have been spent to build these structures, but the authorities are not able to quantify the overall cost of the procedures for the five-year duration of the agreement between Italy and Albania