The Minister of Internal Affairs, Albana Ko\u00e7iu, 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.<\/p>\n
Ko\u00e7iu co-chaired the session \u201cAlternatives to irregular migration, focusing on safe and legal pathways and sustainable reintegration\u201d, together with the European Commission Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen.<\/p>\n
In her speech, the minister presented Albania\u2019s 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, \u201cinternational and bilateral cooperation remains the most important tool for achieving concrete results.\u201d<\/p>\n
The minister highlighted Albania\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Providing concrete examples, Ko\u00e7iu 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\u2019 mobility.<\/p>\n
On the domestic level, the Minister of Internal Affairs presented the 2025 reform to the law \u201cOn Foreigners,\u201d which harmonizes Albanian legislation with the EU acquis and the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum, strengthening migrants\u2019 rights, integration mechanisms, and labor migration management. Ko\u00e7iu emphasized that Albania has also prepared the National Contingency Plan for Mixed Migration Flows 2026\u20132028 and is investing in awareness campaigns against irregular migration, as well as concrete support for returning migrants and local communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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,\u201d said Ko\u00e7iu. \u201cWe 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,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
Concluding the session, Minister Ko\u00e7iu reiterated that \u201cfull coordination along the entire migration chain is the only way to dismantle the criminal model of human trafficking,\u201d while praising the essential role of the Global Alliance in strengthening international operational cooperation.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ready to turn words into operational cooperation and cooperation into concrete results for our citizens, for migrants, and for our shared security,\u201d Ko\u00e7iu concluded.<\/p>\n
At the end of the conference, participating countries adopted a joint declaration expressing their commitment against irregular migration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Albana Ko\u00e7iu, 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. Ko\u00e7iu co-chaired the session \u201cAlternatives to irregular migration, focusing on safe and legal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":81802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n