Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced Wednesday that Italy must establish over 8,000 new places for migrant accommodation by 2026 as mandated by the EU’s asylum procedure regulation.
Speaking before the Schengen parliamentary committee, Piantedosi referenced Italy’s recent use of Albanian-run centres as part of this strategy, stating, “We must therefore organize to create them.”
The Minister also reported that Italy has seen 55,892 migrant arrivals by sea as of November 4 this year, marking a 62% decrease from 2023 and a 36% drop from 2022. Italian authorities have arrested over 450 migrant traffickers over the past two years, while repatriations rose by 15% over last year, with 4,514 migrants returned to their countries.
On Wednesday, the Navy vessel Libra set sail for Albania with eight rescued migrants. This operation is linked to the government’s initiative to process asylum seekers in Albanian facilities—a policy attracting scrutiny from Italy’s Court of Auditors, which is reviewing complaints from Italia Viva and the Five Star Movement over potential misuse of state funds. These complaints question whether the €670 million budgeted over five years, including €134 million annually, is an effective allocation, especially given the significant expenses associated with food, lodging, and hotel accommodation for around 300 Italian police stationed in Shengjin.
Critics, including Europa Verde’s Angelo Bonelli and +Europa’s Riccardo Magi, argue that these centres represent a waste of public funds and are incompatible with European law. Bonelli condemned the operation as a “public resources drain,” while Magi labelled the centres as “costly, inhumane, and inconsistent with EU regulations.” The government, however, remains committed to this plan, with additional transfers to Albanian processing centres expected in the coming week.
The policy’s recent legal test involved a Rome court ruling on October 18, which refused to validate the detention of migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt at the Albanian centre, underscoring the ongoing legal and political tensions surrounding Italy’s migrant management strategy.
