Rome (dpa) - Following months of delays, the first migrants to be processed in Italy's new controversial asylum centres in Albania are set to arrive on Wednesday The group of 16 men from Egypt and Bangladesh were Europe-bound when they were intercepted by Italian authorities on the open sea as they crossed the central Mediterranean.
Italy is among the countries in Europe that receive the highest number of people seeking to reach Europe by making the dangerous crossing.
In a bid to curb the arrivals, the far-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck a deal with non-EU member Albania last year to set up migration centres in the country that sits just across from Italy on the Adriatic Sea.
People picked up while crossing the central Mediterranean by the Italian authorities will be sent to the camps, which should be able to accommodate tens of thousands of people per year.
Under Meloni's plans, migrants taken on board will first be brought to the camp at the Albanian port of Shëngjin for an initial check.
They are then to be transferred to the main camp in Gjadër, where Italy will examine their asylum applications outside Italian jurisdiction, speeding up any deportations.
Those who are granted asylum will be able to travel to Italy afterwards, while those whose request is denied will be deported from Albania.
The new scheme targets men from country's deemed as safe. Women, children, ill people and those who have been subjected to torture will not be sent to Albania.
The two camps in Shëngjin and the settlement of Gjadër, some 8 kilometres inland, officially began operations on Friday.
The opening had originally been schulded for May, but had to be postponed several times due to technical issues.
Last year, approximately 160,000 migrants arrived in Italy via the Mediterranean.
Current numbers are down siginficantly, but tens of thousands of people still set off in often precarious vessels.
Other EU countries have been carefully watching Italy's plans to examine asylum applications outside the bloc, with German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser calling it an "interesting model."
