Albanian Parliament ratifies migration deal with Italy
Albania ‘chose to act like an EU member,’ says Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama
A view of the Albanian Parliament during the voting session, which approved a deal for Albania to hold migrants rescued in international waters by Italy as their asylum applications are processed in Tirana, Albania on February 22, 2024.
ATHENS
The Albanian Parliament ratified a migration deal with Italy, media reports said Thursday.
The deal was approved with the support of the ruling Socialist Party (PS) and the right-wing Party for Justice, Integration and Unity (PDIU), said state-run ATA news agency.
Prime Minister Edi Rama wrote on X: “Albania is standing together with Italy by choosing to act like an EU member state and agreeing to share a burden that Europe should face united as a whole family in the face of a daring challenge that transcends traditional left and right divides.”
“No country can solve such a challenge alone, no rhetoric or quick fixes can change its magnitude, and no old glories or past ways of thinking can provide an escape from facing what is coming in all fronts,” he added.
The deal, which was also approved by the Italian Senate last week, was signed by Premier Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, in Rome last November.
It includes the formation by Italy of reception centers in Albania for up to 3,000 migrants and refugees per month who will be potentially rescued by Italian ships in the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.
