Italian Senate clears migrant deal with Albania

The agreement was approved with 93 votes in favour and 61 against in the 200-seat Senate, the Italian parliament said in a press release.

The lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, endorsed the agreement with Albania in January.

Under the deal, signed in November, a migrant screening centre will be established near the Shengjin port in northwestern Albania, while another centre will be built with further inland to accommodate up to 3,000 migrants in total during the remaining asylum or repatriation procedures, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said back then.

Now, the agreement is pending approval by Albania's unicameral parliament. Last month, Albania's Constitutional Court approved the migrant accomodation deal, following a challenge by members of opposition in parliament.

The agreement has drawn criticism from both opposition parties and rights groups. Last month, international human rights organisation Amnesty International said its implementation could negatively impact human rights, including the rights to life and physical integrity of people in distress at sea, thus breaching Italy’s obligations under EU law.

As many as 155,754 migrants arrived to Italy by sea last year, some 50% more than in 2022, the country’s interior ministry reported earlier.