🇦🇱 Albania

Britain’s Karen Pierce swaps DC embassy for the Balkans

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Former British ambassador in Washington will help lead a summit this fall tackling illegal migration.

Meloni’s migration deal with Albania fails once again

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The judges’ decisions are fuelling discontent within the government, which now faces an investigation into its recent repatriation of ICC-indicted Libyan warlord Almasri.
The post Meloni’s migration deal with Albania fails once again appeared first on …

Italy takes back 43 migrants following court ruling

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An Italian navy ship on Saturday took migrants to Italy from asylum processing centers in Albania following a court decision in Rome. It was the third failed attempt by Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government to process migrants in the non-EU country. A…

Giorgia Meloni’s Albania migration plan blasted after third failure

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Calling the project a “clamorous failure,” Elly Schlein, leader of the Democratic Party, said the prime minister should resign.

Italy sends 49 refugees to Albania in bid to resume disputed scheme

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Latest push to process migrants in Balkan country despite court challenge comes amid increase in boat arrivalsEurope live – latest updatesItaly has transported 49 people to Albania, in the latest push by Giorgia Meloni’s government to enforce a legally…

Italy ships 49 asylum-seekers to Albania detention centres

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Italy said it was transferring 49 migrants picked up in the Mediterranean to new processing centers in Albania, in the third such attempt facing hurdles by courts. More information with FRANCE 24 correspondent in Rome, Seema Gupta.

Italy’s Meloni defends Musk and Trump in rare press conference — 5 takeaways

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PM says her relationship with U.S. president-elect is “very solid” and insists his recent incendiary remarks flow from a “peace-through-strength” approach.

Albania’s TikTok ban raises rule of law questions

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Planned nationwide embargo on TikTok is an “abuse of power” and will suppress free speech, opposition warns.

More than 2,200 people died in Mediterranean in 2024, UN finds

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Figure includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five migrants trying to reach Europe fleeing war and povertyMore than 2,200 people either died or went missing in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe in search of refuge in 2024.The fi…

Far-right Italian PM says she is ‘in tune on many issues’ with Keir Starmer

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Giorgia Meloni says she and Starmer agree on need to explore ‘innovative solutions’ for processing asylum claimsItaly’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has said she is “in tune on many issues” with her British counterpart, Keir Starmer, especially “the…

Meloni’s Albanian migrant detention centers are now ghost towns

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The much-touted solution to Europe’s migration crisis houses only Italian police — who have taken to adopting stray dogs and sunbathing.

The biggest battles headed for Brussels

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What the EU will be squabbling about in VDL’s second term.

‘It cost €1bn and it’s a dog shelter’: red faces as Italy’s Albania migrant centres lie empty

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With Giorgia Meloni’s plan in tatters, one centre is housing stray dogs adopted by bored Italian guardsWhen Italy opened migrant centres in Albania in October the plan was clear: 3,000 people a month intercepted in Italian waters would have their asylu…

Teen’s murder drives Albania to ban TikTok for a year 

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Prime Minister Edi Rama blamed the Chinese-owned platform for inciting violence after a schoolboy was stabbed to death.

Albania to shut down TikTok for one year after fatal school stabbing

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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Saturday announced the shutdown of TikTok for at least one year from 2025. The decision comes after a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death by a classmate last month in a fight that had started on social media. 

Albania bans TikTok for a year after fatal stabbing of teenager last month

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Prime minister announces move after meeting with parents’ groups and teachers over social media fearsAlbania has announced a one-year ban on TikTok following the killing of a teenager last month that raised fears over the influence of social media on c…

Meloni’s Italy-Albania deal faces another judicial set-back

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“If these [Italian court rulings] are upheld by the EU Court of Justice in their underlying philosophy,” Meloni warned, they could “compromise the repatriation policies of all member states.”
The post Meloni’s Italy-Albania deal faces another jud…

EU leaders to pledge closer ties with Western Balkans counterparts

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“It’s clear that CFSP alignment is becoming more important,” a senior EU official said.
The post EU leaders to pledge closer ties with Western Balkans counterparts appeared first on Euractiv.

Balkan journalists battle deluge of SLAPP lawsuits

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SLAPPs — or strategic lawsuits against public participation — are being increasingly used by the rich and powerful to bully and silence journalists, activists and NGOs.
The post Balkan journalists battle deluge of SLAPP lawsuits appeared first on Eur…

European countries give farmers more freedom to shoot wolves

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The decision by Bern Convention members is a major win for the EU and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Italy’s Albania asylum deal has become a political disaster for Giorgia Meloni

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Pact hailed as EU migration breakthrough in tatters after judges rule asylum seekers must be transferred to ItalyA multimillion-dollar migration deal between Italy and Albania aimed at curbing arrivals was presented by the European Commission president…

Italian judges strike another blow against Meloni’s Albania asylum deal

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Far-right government angrily condemns ruling that seven men detained in Albania must be transferred to Italy Italian judges have ordered seven men detained in a migration hub in Albania to be transferred to Italy, in another blow to a controversial de…

UK to sign new agreements on people smuggling with Western Balkan countries

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The UK government says that almost 100,000 migrants from third countries transited through the Western Balkans last year, making it “a key route used by those who end up in the EU or UK illegally”.

5 things to know about migration czar Magnus Brunner’s European Parliament hearing

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Treading carefully, Austria’s pick for commissioner pledged new legislation for migration — and little more.

EU top migration man ‘open’ to return hubs, Italy-Albania deal

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Brunner stated that there is “unfinished business” he needs to attend to – and he has made clear he is open to new ideas on how to take EU migration policy quite a step further.

Czechia, Italy push to postpone fines for missing emission targets

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In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Poles worried about their country’s security under a second Trump presidency, the Italian government resuming migrant transfers to Albania amid a rift with the judiciary, and so much more.  

Love Trump? Hate MAGA? Where to escape if your team loses the US election.

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We’ve pulled together a handy list of European safe spaces if you need to eject from America after Tuesday’s vote.

Hollywood’s villains were once Russian or Chinese. Now they’re us – people from the Balkans | Ana Schnabl

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Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s new film Wolfs shows that while geopolitical realities have changed, western prejudice hasn’tI recently watched the new bro-flick Wolfs . In my defence: I was sick and therefore lacking in imagination. I didn’t fall for t…

How Putin’s grip on the east could influence EU’s Enlargement Package

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In this episode, host Giada Santana and policy analyst Teona Lavrelashvili, discuss the successes and failures of EU enlargement policy amid Eastern Europe’s shifting political landscape.

Does Germany still believe in Europe?

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Scholz now seems to view the bloc as a problem to be managed, while European institutions and member countries seem to regard him as a problem to be managed in return.

Von der Leyen tours Western Balkans in latest EU enlargement drive

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen kicked off a four-day trip to the Western Balkans, where she will meet with the leaders of Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro to discuss their progress tow…

Italy-Albania deal ‘will work’ regardless of legal challenges, Meloni says

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The Italian prime minister said “all European countries supporting us understand” the potential of similar deals in managing migration at EU level.

Von der Leyen starts Balkans tour, says enlargement ‘top priority’

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Discussions around EU enlargement in the region of almost 18 million people stretch back 20 years, with Brussels blowing hot and cold during that period.

Italian progressives urge Commission to start infringement procedure over Italy-Albania deal

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The deal “clearly does not seem to adhere to [the Union lawss],” said Italian MEP Cecilia Strada in an interview with Euractiv. 

Italy’s Meloni seeks to save Albania migration deal after court setback

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Rome’s flagship scheme to send migrants to offshore detention centers in Albania has hit an immediate legal hurdle.

Albania’s former president arrested on corruption allegations

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Relations between the country’s former president and current PM have deteriorated.

Kosovo’s Kurti opposes replication of Italy-Albania migration deals in Balkans

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EU enlargement “is the best response to those who seek to fracture Europe’s security and unity,” Kosovo’s prime minister added.

Macron, hard-line interior minister agree to disagree on immigration crackdown after first meeting

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The meeting was described as an opportunity to share perspectives — without the goal of reaching an agreement.

Meloni rushes to pass new law to save Albania migration transfer policy

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Move by Italy’s PM comes after ruling by a Rome court to return 12 asylum seekers being held in Gjadër hubItaly’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said her government is working to immediately pass a new law on Monday to overcome a court ruling that ris…

German opposition slams exclusion of Poland from Berlin talks on Ukraine

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In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about Czechia’s ANO party being on track to win next year’s elections, Meloni trying to salvage the Italy-Albania migrant deal, and so much more. 

Germany arrests Libyan suspected of planning terror attack on Israeli embassy

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Detention of Libyan man suspected of links to Islamic State threatens to further fan the debate over immigration.

12 migrants sent to Albania for processing are returned to Italy

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to convene a Cabinet meeting on Monday to address the issue. 

Blow to Meloni’s Albania deal as court orders asylum seekers’ return to Italy

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Judges’ decision on 12 men held in Italian migration hub in Albania also casts doubt on EU’s hardline plansThe last 12 asylum seekers being held in a new Italian migration hub in Albania must be transferred to Italy, a court has ruled, in a heavy blow …

Italy-Albania deal ‘not replicable’ in France, PM Michel Barnier says

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France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau had already warned that externalising asylum claim processes would run against the French constitution.

Italian court rejects outsourced migrant detentions in Albania in blow to Meloni

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A court in Italy on Friday ruled against the detention of the first migrants sent to Albania, foiling the right-wing government’s plan to outsource the processing of asylum seekers to the non-EU country. PM Meloni’s nationalist Brothers of Italy party…

Rome court rules offshore detention of migrants in Albania illegal

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All 16 migrants set to be returned from Albania to Italy after their countries of origin deemed unsafe.

Mrs. von der Leyen, headteacher of a school in special measures

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Wait, I thought. Am I back at school?

If you think Trump’s migration policies are extreme, look at the EU’s

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As the anti-immigrant feeling surges in popularity in Europe, its leaders are embracing formerly taboo approaches to their borders.

Migrants recount mistreatment in Italy’s detention centres

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This week, the first group of migrants intercepted in Italian waters arrived in Albania as part of Rome’s controversial scheme to process asylum seekers outside the EU. The migrants will be held in pre-repatriation detention centres, known as CPRs. Su…

French PM Barnier’s shadow follows Macron to Brussels

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Weakened on the domestic front, the French president could also face pressure from his prime minister’s influence in Brussels.

‘Who is going to pick our olives?’ Greek PM warns against being too tough on migration

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Kyriakos Mitsotakis says his country needs workers as EU leaders tussle over asylum strategy.

Migrants arrive in Albania as part of controversial Italy deal

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A group of 16 Bangladeshi and Egyptian migrants were sent from Rome to Albania on Wednesday, as Italy enacted far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s controversial law aimed at cutting the amount of people crossing from North Africa.

Immigration takes center stage once again at the European Council’s autumn meeting

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Amid Italy sending asylum seekers to Albania and Poland aiming to partly suspend the right to asylum, Ursula von der Leyen has proposed that EU countries consider ‘innovative ways’ to prevent irregular entries.

Live blog: European Council Summit

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EU leaders are in town to talk migration — and deportation.

Italy’s scheme to offshore asylum claims should not be a model for the rest of Europe | Andreina De Leo and Marco Gerbaudo

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Other leaders have expressed interest in Giorgia Meloni’s deal with Albania. But is it really a humane and effective strategy?There’s much interest in the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’sdeal with Albania tooffshore asylum procedures, which star…

Von der Leyen to ask EU leaders to explore using ‘return hubs’ for migrants

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European Commission president cites Italy-Albania deal as possible model for reducing irregular arrivals to EuropeThe European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has called for an exploration of “return hubs” outside the EU in a letter to the …

Giorgia Meloni: Italy a ‘model to follow’ on migration

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Rome’s “return hubs” policy is being praised by European leaders, PM says.

Albania begins EU accession talks

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But it could still take decades before the country joins the bloc.

Albania-EU membership talks to kick off with corruption, checks and balances

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Join host Giada Santana and senior editor Alice Taylor in unpacking the start of Albania’s EU membership negotiations.

Italy sends first asylum seekers to Albania under controversial pact

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Men from countries deemed safe are transferred to Albania to have asylum claims processed The first people to be intercepted at sea by the Italian navy under a controversial migration deal with Albania are on their way to the Balkan nation to have thei…

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