Migrants: how does the Albanian model that Meloni is reviving work?

Following the crisis in Ceuta, where tens of thousands of people crossed by swimming or overland the border between Spain and Morocco, the “Albanian model” for managing migration flows, as proposed by the Meloni government, has returned to the centre of public debate. Italia’s aim is to ensure that this approach – designed to manage repatriation procedures outside national borders – is also adopted by the European Union.

The Albanian model, however, has encountered numerous difficulties, suffering setbacks that have limited its effectiveness. The agreement between Rome and Tirana – signed in 2023 and ratified by Parliament in 2024 – provides for the transfer to Albanian territory of migrants rescued by Italian vessels in Mediterranean waters, with the aim of processing asylum applications and any repatriations outside the EU’s borders. This system applies to migrants from countries considered safe, where, according to the government, the internal situation does not justify flight or an application for asylum. People belonging to categories considered vulnerable, including minors and pregnant women, are excluded.

Italia has therefore built two facilities in Albania: one in Shengjin, designed as a port of disembarkation and a site for initial identification, and one in Gjader, intended for subsequent procedures, including detention and repatriation. In these centres, in fact, according to the initial plan, migrants were supposed to apply for asylum: if their application was accepted, they would be transferred to Italia; if not, the return process would be initiated.

The facilities built in Albania were therefore not originally intended as CPRs (Repatriation Holding Centres): according to the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, the original plan was for people – subject to a court order – to be held there whilst awaiting the completion of fast-track procedures for the identification and processing of asylum applications from individuals coming from countries deemed safe.

However, the detention of migrants has often been prevented or restricted by rulings from Italian courts, particularly on grounds relating to the identification of safe countries. As early as October 2024, the Court of Rome refused to validate the detention of the first migrants to arrive at the Gjader centre. In the face of these setbacks, the government – determined not to let the project fall through – designated the Gjader facility in April 2025 as a CPR, that is, a centre for detaining people who have already been served with an expulsion order whilst awaiting repatriation.