Italy transfers first migrants to Albania amid controversy over 'migrant subcontracting'

Italy's Migrant Center Built in Albania Welcomes First Resident

An Italian naval vessel is heading to Albania from the island of Lampedusa carrying the first group of migrants on the 14th local time, foreign media reported, citing sources.

We have not yet determined how many people were on board.

Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost island, is considered a major stopover for migrants in Africa and the Middle East.

Migrants transferred to the recently opened Albanian Migrant Center will stay at the camp where they will be screened for asylum and granted asylum or returned to their home countries depending on the results.

However, local media predicted that only a small number of people would pass the asylum screening.

This is because Italy has recently expanded the target of safe countries, which are the criteria for asylum permits, from the existing 15 to 21.

A safe country is a country that is not likely to be persecuted by the government even if it is repatriated.

Italy's safe countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, with 56,599 migrants arriving in Italy in the four countries alone last year.

The Italian government expects to be able to process 36,000 asylum claims a year through a migrant center it has built in Albania.

Italy has decided to set up migrant processing centers in third countries to actively support Albania's membership in the European Union and the EU, instead of decentralizing demand for migrants.

International human rights groups have criticized Italy for subcontracting the migrant issue to third countries, but other EU countries and Britain are interested in the "Albanian model," the agency said.