UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is open to sending asylum seekers to Albania as he prepares to hold a mini-summit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The British Prime Minister told reporters traveling with him in Washington DC before flying to Rome that he would see how Italy’s agreement with Albania would work regarding the processing of asylum requests, writes The Independent.
Within days of taking power in July, Sir Keir scrapped the UK’s controversial deal with Rwanda, which had been set up by the previous Tory government at a cost of £700m to taxpayers.
But he now seems open to similar schemes in a European country.
This follows German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s decision to take over facilities in Rwanda that the UK has paid for to deal with asylum seekers in his country.
Asked specifically about Italy’s scheme in Albania, Sir Keir answered: “Let’s see. It’s early days. I’m interested in how this works, I think everyone else is. It’s too early.”
The Italian plan has been criticized by many and includes the opening of camps for asylum seekers that will hold up to 3,000 people. Ms Meloni’s government has dramatically reduced the number of people coming across the Mediterranean to Italy from North Africa.
The deal has been condemned by Human Rights Watch, whose associate director for Europe, Judith Sunderland, wrote: “Italy’s latest gambit to shirk its responsibilities on the high seas violates people’s rights. After its abusive deal with Libya, Italy now wants to take people who have effectively reached the country from outside the EU, violating basic principles of rescue at sea and undermining asylum rights and freedom from arbitrary detention. It is also unlikely to deter people from making dangerous boat crossings.”
Amnesty has raised human rights concerns in Albania, citing the killing of journalists in the country, concerns about the right to a fair trial, murders in prisons, a “hostile environment” for the LGBT+ community and violence against women and girls.
On the deal with Italy, he noted: “Human rights organizations and others expressed concern about the impact this could have on the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, including automatic and therefore arbitrary detention “.
Sir Keir confirmed to reporters that he will discuss the issue as record numbers of asylum seekers continue to cross the Channel in small boats.
The Prime Minister said: “We will be able to talk about irregular migration, but also about other things”
He pointed out that there are “different challenges in different countries”.
“In Germany, I was particularly concerned that a very large percentage of the boats that are being used to cross the Channel go through Germany. And I think they should take advantage of other opportunities to catch them on their journey,” he said.
“I have already had a preliminary discussion with Georgia Meloni about how we can work together on irregular migration. She certainly has some strong ideas and I hope to discuss them with her. She and I have already discussed how we can improve joint operations, so this is something we will discuss,” said the British Prime Minister.
