(Bloomberg) -- Italian authorities are shipping the first group of migrants to Albania as part of a controversial agreement to vet new arrivals in the Balkan country.
A group of asylum seekers was on board an Italian naval vessel bound for Albania, an Italian Interior Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pressed ahead with the plan this year for Albania to host migrants while Italy decided whether to accept them.
Italian authorities are determining whether the people, who were rescued at sea seeking passage to Italy, meet requirements to gain entry into the country, Italy’s Ansa newswire reported.
The processing hubs in Albania, which are equipped to host hundreds of asylum seekers, will be under the control of Italian authorities, according to the plans unveiled this year. Meloni, who introduced the deal with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, has made the offshore processing a centerpiece of her migration policy.
The agreement has faced delays and criticism from humanitarian organizations and opposition groups, who have called it a political stunt that endangers asylum seekers. Meloni has touted the arrangement, saying it should be a model for other European countries.
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