Italy plans migrant centers in Albania

Italy has reached an agreement to build two migrant centers in Albania, marking the first arrangement of its kind between a European Union member country and a non-EU state, with the aim of providing temporary accommodation for migrants rescued at sea.

Announcing the initiative alongside Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama at a news conference in Rome, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: "Illegal immigration is a phenomenon no EU member state can handle alone."

Italy will bear the cost of constructing the two centers in the port of Shengjin and in the Gjader area in northwest Albania, with a vision of housing about 3,000 people by the centers' opening next year, and increase their capacity to process 36,000 migrants annually, reported news agencies.

Tirana would manage migration flows as part of the deal, said Meloni.

"Italy is Albania's top trading partner," she said. "There is already close collaboration in the fight against illegality."

Meloni, who is the leader of the right-wing nationalist Brothers of Italy party, came to power last year and has vowed to manage immigration, yet Italy has experienced nearly double the number of migrant arrivals year-on-year, with more than 145,000 people arriving in the country by sea so far this year compared to about 88,000 last year, reported Politico.

With the continuous influx of migrants from outside the EU, far-right parties across Europe, gaining momentum in polls through anti-immigration campaigns, are demanding a stricter stance on migration.

Sources in the Italian prime minister's office, cited by The Guardian newspaper, described the agreement as historic, not only for Italy but for the entire EU.

The initiative will only target migrants rescued at sea by Italian boats and not those who reach Italian shores, said Meloni.

On Tuesday, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of the nation's 16 constituent states thrashed out a tough new migration policy during lengthy talks.

The agreement came against the backdrop of a sharp rise in the popularity of far-right anti-immigration political parties in Germany that have fed off people's frustration with the large number of migrants entering the country in recent years to seek asylum.

Both Scholz and the 16 state governors have seen their share of the vote fall as the far-right parties have grown.

Earle Gale in London contributed to this story.