Premier Giorgia Meloni's cabinet on
Tuesday approved a bill for the ratification of the agreement
the government signed with Tirana last month to set up Italian
migrant centres on Albanian territory, sources said.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, signed by premiers
Giorgia Meloni and Edi Rama, two centres will be set up to deal
with the cases of migrants who have been rescued by Italian
navy, coast guard and police vessels.
This will not include the elderly, vulnerable, children or
pregnant women or migrants those saved by NGO-run ships or
people who land on Italian soil..
Rome has said the agreement could be a model for other countries
to follow as part of efforts to discourage illegal migration and
strengthen the EU's external border.
Centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein
has said the plan is unconstitutional because it is effectively
a push-back towards a third country.
The Council of Europe has expressed concern about the agreement,
saying it raises several human rights issues and "adds to a
worrying European trend towards the externalisation of asylum
responsibilities".
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