Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Italy's Albania Deal, Tested
Published 1 week, 3 days ago
Description
The 2023 Italy-Albania protocol, the EU's first offshore asylum deal, opened centres in October 2024, but courts ordered early transfers returned, and it was repurposed in March 2026 as repatriation detention, with only about 90 people held by June 2026 against a 600 million euro build cost. A CJEU opinion says offshore centres are lawful in principle but the protocol likely fails procedural guarantees, and Albania will not renew after 2028.