Italy-Albania agreement 'humanitarian solution' - Tajani

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 9 - The agreement signed by Rome and Tirana earlier this week for Italy to set up centres to manage migrants in Albania is a "humanitarian solution" that is fully compliant with European Union regulations and international law, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday.
    The agreement with Albania "respects all EU rules and international law," Tajani told reporters after the Gaza aid conference in Paris.
    "It is not Guantanamo as some have claimed", but rather a "humanitarian" solution", he added, insisting that "the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice, and Health" have all been involved.
    Tajani said that under the agreement "only Italian military ships" can disembark migrants and refugees in Albania, with the exception of "minors, pregnant women, and all those who present risks".
    "European Union rules must be respected," he insisted, describing the deal as an agreement "between countries that share a common position in the Mediterranean".
    "It is not a dangerous solution. I believe, as a former member of the European institutions, that there are no risks at the legal level. There may be political disagreement but at the legal level everything has been done in accordance with Community rules," he concluded.
    On Thursday the European Commission said it is "studying" the memorandum of understanding signed by Rome and Tirana on Monday, under which Albania will receive up to 36,000 migrants and refugees a year for processing in centres under Italian jurisdiction.
    It is understood that one of the facilities will be a detention centre for asylum seekers from so-called safe countries f origin, who under Italian law are subject to accelerated refugee status determination procedures in 'border' areas so that they can in theory be repatriated more easily in the event of a negative outcome to their asylum claim. (ANSA).