Albanian Foreign Minister Ferit Hoxha has said Tirana will not extend the deal that enables Rome to set up and operate migrant centres on its territory beyond 2030, in part because he expects Albania to be an EU member State by then.
Part of the logic for having Italian centres in Albania is that it is a disincentive for migrants to try to enter Italy illegally because, in this way, they remain outside the EU's borders and do not achieve their aim of reaching European territory.
The controversial five-year agreement for the Italian-run migrant centres was ratified in 2024.
"First of all, it's for five years and I'm not sure that there will be an extension," Hoxha told Euractiv.
"Second, there will be no extension because we will be a member of the European Union.
