Thread by @d_boeselager

I just visited the Italian asylum camp in Gjadër, Albania.

Here is why it’s completely useless and a EUR 60mn fake news propaganda dump👇🏽 /1

🔙 Background 🔙

the Meloni government is spending a ridiculous amount of money, diplomatic, administrative and judicative capacity to open up an Italian asylum and return procedure facility in Albania.

So far, it failed because of the courts. /2

If operational, people would be processed under Italian law.

If their asylum decision is positive, they would enter Italy.

If it’s negative, they should be returned - as they would be from Italy.

If after 18 months they can’t be returned, they would be returned to … Italy /3

Under no circumstance would the procedure lead to people being left in Albania.

So either the plan is to just let them sneak out into Albania as a breach of the Albanian-Italian agreement.

Or the camp could be anywhere in Italy and have the same effect - but way cheaper. /4

Having established the utter uselessness of the exercise, we can now look at why its sadly so dangerous.

📢Fake news📢

Meloni uses the attention on Gjadër to attack the independence of her courts and position herself as being tough on asylum. /5

💶 Costs 💶

The construction of the camp cost EUR 60mn, there are constant policemen, prison personnel, doctors, etc there, even though it’s closed right now, to keep the facility from falling apart. Cost for the operation of the boat amounts to 15k a day. /6

👨‍⚖️Undermining asylum👨‍⚖️

The concept of extraterritorial asylum procedures is becoming a model other countries & even the EU want to try.

For me, it’s clear this is a legal loophole. Exploiting it means going the spirit & letter of asylum law and is trying to undermine it. /7

⚖️Scale⚖️

Making this model a centerpiece of the EU asylum system is super expensive & would not solve a single issue for our countries.

🧘‍♀️Trauma🧘‍♀️

People go through the trauma of encampment even if in the long term they would stay. But that’s true for all border procedures /8

🤫Blackmail🤫

If Albania/other accession countries are supposed to take charge of even a portion of EU asylum procedures, how would they be able to say no, while requiring support for their accession?

⌛️Long-term⌛️

The Italy-Albania deal is for 5 years. What happens after? /9

In sum, this seems like a fake solution that doesn’t benefit the asylum seeker, the country receiving them, or the accession country - next to being likely illegal anyway.

When will governments finally focus on real solutions, relocation across the EU, and fast procedures!? /f