An agreement between Italy and Albania to have asylum claims processed outside the EU will cost an estimated 653 million euros over five years, the Italian research institute Openpolis has found.
The cost of a deal agreed in February between Italy and Albania to transfer migrants to centers in Albania for the processing of their asylum claims has been examined in a report by Italy's Openpolis research institute.
The report, published on Friday (April 19), found the overall cost of the agreement will be 653 million euros for the first five years of its implementation. It said 252 million euros of the total sum will be used to cover travel between the two countries by officials of the Italian ministries of the interior, justice and health.
Under the agreement, two centers are to be built in Albania: an initial reception center in the area of Shengjin and a hotspot and pre-removal center (CPR) in Gjader. Both are located in the north of the country, about 20 km apart.
The government plans to open the facilities on May 20, although initially they will host a smaller number of migrants than they will accommodate when they become fully operational.
'A considerable sum'
Openpolis said in the report that the 653 million euros in costs are "a considerable sum which, however, doesn't appear to be useful to favor repatriations nor to improve the logistics of hosting or the integration of those who will get international protection."
According to the dossier, management of the facilities should cost around 30 million euros in five years.
"If we consider these numbers to be correct, over 600 million euros would not concern management expenses," observed Openpolis.
"Some of these expenses would perhaps be similar if the centers were built in Italy. Others are clearly additional," the center noted, citing in particular the "95 million euros to rent vessels, the nearly 8 million euros in health insurance costs for Italian operators working abroad and the 252 million for the transfers of officials."
The report said the sum was "exorbitant, the equivalent of 138,000 euros a day, necessary to pay for trips, daily allowances, food and lodgings for interforce personnel," as well as for officials who work for prefectures, the department of penitentiary administration, border healthcare assistance (Usmaf) and the national institute for the promotion of health of migrant populations (Inmp).
These expenses "could be avoided if the personnel worked in their usual workplace instead of abroad," the report added.