The Minister of Internal Affairs, Albana Koçiu, participated in Brussels in the high-level conference of the Global Alliance Agenda, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner addressed the event with video messages.
Koçiu co-chaired the session “Alternatives to irregular migration, focusing on safe and legal pathways and sustainable reintegration”, together with the European Commission Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.
In her speech, the minister presented Albania’s dual experience as a country with a diaspora but also as a host country for migrants and foreign citizens who live, work, or study here. She emphasized that this reality gives Albania a unique perspective on migration policies, noting that above all, “international and bilateral cooperation remains the most important tool for achieving concrete results.”
The minister highlighted Albania’s expanded cooperation with FRONTEX, which today serves as a functional model for the integrated management of European borders. She stressed that thanks to operational cooperation with Interpol, Europol, and partners in the region and the EU, cases of irregular migration in Albania have dropped significantly.
Providing concrete examples, Koçiu mentioned the joint Task Force with the United Kingdom, which significantly reduced illegal arrivals in England and increased voluntary returns; cooperation with Italy for managing migratory flows in the Mediterranean; and work programs with Germany, which create safe and legal alternatives for citizens’ mobility.
On the domestic level, the Minister of Internal Affairs presented the 2025 reform to the law “On Foreigners,” which harmonizes Albanian legislation with the EU acquis and the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum, strengthening migrants’ rights, integration mechanisms, and labor migration management. Koçiu emphasized that Albania has also prepared the National Contingency Plan for Mixed Migration Flows 2026–2028 and is investing in awareness campaigns against irregular migration, as well as concrete support for returning migrants and local communities.
“In all our efforts, we have followed one guiding principle: creating alternatives to irregular migration and supporting those who return. The government has introduced fiscal incentives, subsidies, and other opportunities for returning migrants, helping them invest, work, and rebuild their lives in the country. At the same time, we have launched awareness campaigns against illegal migration,” said Koçiu. “We are working on two fronts: modernizing our framework for returning Albanian migrants and for the increasing number of foreign nationals choosing Albania as a place to live and work,” she noted.
Concluding the session, Minister Koçiu reiterated that “full coordination along the entire migration chain is the only way to dismantle the criminal model of human trafficking,” while praising the essential role of the Global Alliance in strengthening international operational cooperation.
She added that Albania remains committed to contributing actively to the Alliance, based on the principle that the fight against smuggling must go hand in hand with respect for human dignity and the creation of safe, legal, and reliable migration pathways.
“We are ready to turn words into operational cooperation and cooperation into concrete results for our citizens, for migrants, and for our shared security,” Koçiu concluded.
At the end of the conference, participating countries adopted a joint declaration expressing their commitment against irregular migration.
