Tirana, Albania (AP) – Great Britain speaks with several countries to accommodate rejected asylum seekers while they are waiting to be expelled, the British Prime Minister said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Kier Starmer said during a visit to Albania that the concept “return hub” was a “really important innovation” which could more effectively fight irregular migration. He did not appoint the countries with which he was under discussion or offered more details.
Albania already had a five -year With Italy to potentially house up to 36,000 migrants per year while their asylum requests were accelerated by Italy. Under the initial agreement – which differs from what the United Kingdom offers – Italy would bring all the migrants whose requests are rejected and try to expel them. But the plan has so far failed due to repeating Challenges in Italian courts.
In April, the Italian authorities modified their landing agreement of migrants to a variation in the “return hub” model and transferred 40 people to Albania who lacked Italian residence permit and whose asylum requests had been refused. It was the first time that a country of the European Union sent asylum seekers rejected in a country not of the EU which was neither theirs nor their own transit during their trip.
Albanian Prime Minister EDI Rama said that the agreement with Italy was an “OFF” and that Tirana had refused several requests for similar agreements with other countries, excluding the possibility that the United Kingdom would send asylum seekers rejected there.
The Conservative British government that was elected from power in July had planned a controversial program to expel asylum seekers in Rwanda, which they say was a secure third country. Starmer qualified his predecessor program a gadget and canceled it during his first days in power.
As part of this program, asylum seekers would be transported by plane to Rwanda, which would decide to grant asylum.
Under the “return hubs”, Starmer discusses, migrants whose asylum complaints are rejected by the United Kingdom would be sent to a third country to wait for the deportation. A Starmer spokesperson said that the objective was to prevent failing asylum seekers from using dropout tactics, such as the start of a family in Britain, to avoid being returned.
Migration expert Meghan Benton said there was a lot of confusion between the various programs set out by the United Kingdom and other European countries. “There are a lot of legal and moral differences between them,” said Benton, who leads global programs to the reflection group on the Migration Policy Institute. While the Rwanda agreement has moved responsibility for the United Kingdom for asylum to a third country, Starmer’s proposal implies people who have exhausted their asylum allegations, said Benton.
Several European countries, including the Netherlands and Sweden, seek to do the same, added Benton. The “Return Hubs” concept was also supported by the European Commission as a way to dissuade irregular migration.
During his visit to Albania on Thursday, the British Prime Minister also said that a joint working group had helped to considerably reduce the number of Albanian migrants trying to reach the United Kingdom. His government is in talks with the countries of the Western Balkans to set up similar working groups, aimed at reducing the tangle of bureaucracy which hinders progress in reducing migrant arrivals, he added.
The number of Albanians crossing the English chain in dangerous inflatable rafts looking for more paid jobs increased from 12,000 in 2022 to around 600 in 2024.
“A pretty incredible reduction,” said Starmer at a press conference with Rama. “And I think it’s a signal and an example of what can be done when two countries work together in this way.”
While the number of Albanians arriving on the English coast has dropped, the total number of migrants crossing the chain on small boats has increased by more than 30% so far this year, compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis of data published by the home office.
The senior British officials in 2022 called on the arrivals of the Albanians “an invasion”, causing a diplomatic spit. Rama had called this a “crazy story” and an attempt to conceal the failed border policies of the United Kingdom. Albanians cannot seek asylum status in the United Kingdom, which considers Albania as a safe country.
The same year, London and Tirana signed an agreement to return the Albanians arriving on boats in the United Kingdom London also financed projects, in particular In northeast Albania Where most of the new illegal arrivals came from.
Rama is committed to continuing the partnership with Great Britain on the discouragement of the arrivals of migrants from Albania.
Starmer’s visit to Albania is the first of a British Prime Minister. The two countries have also signed a declaration of intention for the cooperation of the defense industry to work together on the manufacture of military vehicles in Albania.
The British leader will participate in the Tirana European political community on Friday, a forum that brings together European leaders in order to stimulate security and prosperity through the continent.
___
A previous version of this story wrongly indicated that the British Prime Minister called the concept of Hub’s return was a “fairly important innovation”. He said it was a “really important innovation”.
___
AP journalists Brian Melley in London and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this story.
___
Follow the global migration coverage AD at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
