Between December 1st and 2nd, JEF Europe, JEF Italy and JEF Albania will mobilise in Tirana, Shengjin and Gjadër to take part in the demonstration against the controversial agreement between the Italian and Albanian Governments, which foresees the detention in Albania of migrants about to be repatriated. The initiative is promoted by Network Against Migrant Detention.

This pact marks yet another phase of border externalisation and introduces administrative detention facilities for migrants, creating a dangerous precedent in the European context. It is a mechanism of repression and confinement that undermines the principles of freedom of movement and the right to asylum, the founding elements of our democratic coexistence.

As European federalists, committed to a Europe of peace and solidarity, we cannot accept such an attack on the fundamental rights of migrants.

Similarly, we cannot accept the Italian government’s questioning of the judiciary, both at national and European level, accusing it of pursuing political ends instead of ensuring respect for the rule of law. Such statements feed a toxic and divisive narrative designed to manipulate public opinion, and risk eroding respect for the rule of law, a fundamental principle governing democratic coexistence and the functioning of a society based on justice and fairness.

We also condemn what is not just,  complicity, but the active encouragement of migration externalisation by Member States. While speaking of a ‘European approach’ to the migration challenge, Member States not only approved of the Italo-Albanian policy, but many intend to replicate it, in fact 15 Member States had issued a joint call last May to precisely calling on the need to further develop the outsourcing of migration and asylum policy.1

The European Institutions, which have already made any concept of solidarity with the most vulnerable in the Pact on Migration and Asylum null and void as they, continue to ignore the main objective of a humane migration policy : saving lives, integrating migrants into European society, ensuring dignified asylum conditions, guaranteeing fair and transparent asylum procedures and ensuring collective security for all.

As European citizens, we find it completely absurd how such as policy, with all the stated drawbacks, also comes with the exorbitant price tag of 60 million euros just to construct the camps, and with estimates skyrocketing towards 1 billion euros for the first 5 years of operation.2 This is not just an inhumane policy, it’s a financially reckless one too. 

We strongly call for a single EU migration and asylum system, supported by a single and coherent foreign policy, capable of saving lives, dealing with the root causes at countries of origin and transit as one, and offering expanded and accessible safe and legal routes to migrate into Europe.

We demand nothing short of the full withdrawal of the agreement between Italy and Albania and to urge a constructive dialogue within supranational institutions, with the aim of managing migration in a manner which is based on respect for human rights and the values of solidarity and humanity that Europe must embody.

We raise our voices today to remember that when we speak of migration, we speak of people, of human beings who deserve dignity and respect.

Sources:

1. Jorge Liboreiro, 15 EU countries call for the outsourcing of migration and asylum policy, 16/05/2024, Euronews, https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/05/16/15-eu-countries-call-for-the-outsourcing-of-migration-and-asylum-policy
2. Lorenzo Tondo, Italy’s Albania asylum deal has become a political disaster for Giorgia Meloni, 14/11/2024, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/14/italy-albania-asylum-deal-complete-failure-giorgia-meloni