The 16 migrants who were intercepted on October 13 by the Italian authorities had been hoping to arrive in Italy. Instead, the small group were put on board an Italian naval ship and sailed directly towards Albania, to have their asylum claims processed in Italy's new centers there.

Now, four out of the 16 have already been returned to Italy to begin procedures there instead. The ten Bangladeshi nationals and six Egyptians, were meant to be the first to undergo the expedited border procedures in a third country. But already, a quarter of the group has had to be retured to Rome. Two were declared minors, and therefore cannot be processed in Albania under the agreement between Rome and Tirana. Another two are reported to have health problems.

The agreement only forsees adult males without any vulnerabilities being processed in the Albanian detention centers. The four migrants were taken back to Italy on a patrol boat from the Italian Navy vessel.

The news that some of the small group had already been sent back towards Italy did not pass leaders at the EU Summit by. Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, when asked about whether or not he thought the rest of the EU might follow Italy's example, said that he thought "these small numbers are not really a solution for such a big country like Germany."

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Disembarkation procedure

Slightly before 8am the naval vessel, Libra, docked in the port of Shengjin and approximately two hours later, disembarkation began.

The migrants were made to disembark in groups of four, walking in single file, and escorted by Italian police officers, with their heads down they walked the brief stretch to the entrance of the facility, where doctors, interpreters, and cultural mediators were there waiting for them. UNHCR and IOM staff were also present and some had traveled with them.

The procedure began with a health screening and the the migrants were provided with food and new clothes.

Then a series of identification procedures began. It was thought at first that this should only last a few hours, but they continued until late into the night. After these processes were completed, the migrants were meant to be driven inland to the Gjader camp, where their asylum hearings are due to begin.

While the asylum hearings are under way, migrants will stay in the shelter area of the site in Gjader, which currently has a capacity for around 400 migrants. If their requests are rejected, they would then be transferred to the CPR part of the camp while their deportation is prepared.

There is also a small prison area built to detain anyone who is found to have committed a crime while at the camp.

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Small protests

In the small town of Shengjin, the arrival of the migrants appears to have gone almost unnoticed. Marash Prekbibaj and his wife manage a modest trinket shop just opposite the entrance to the port. The only thing that attracted their attention was the large group of journalists who arrived to cover the event.

One Albanian man in the town told ANSA: "Migrants are welcome. We as Albanians, have been like them."

A few meters away, a waiter at a café said he is enjoying visits from the Italian staff at the hotspot, who pop in every morning for a coffee. "The cafe's business has increased by 30 percent," said the waiter happily.

A small group of protesters did turn up as the migrants arrived. One was holding a banner written in English, stating: "The European dream ends here" and a large picture of Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, standing next to each other, dressed as the penitentiary police.

"We protested against this agreement from the start because it is a grave violation of human rights," commented Sidorela Vatnikaj, one of the activists. Vatnikaj claimed that "both Rama and Meloni are two autocratic leaders and they were not transparent over the terms of the agreement which risks setting a dangerous precedent for Europe."