The current status of centres in Albania: from the pronunciations of Italian and European judges to the complaint submitted to the Court of Auditors

Translated by Francesca Valsecchi 

In November 2023, the Italian government has agreed with the Albanian government upon a Protocol on migratory issues, aimed at outsourcing borders, creating a temporary detention centre for asylum seekers dealing with border procedures, waiting for the evaluation of an international protection request. This is a unicum in the European landscape: a centre with 880 seats in the Albanian territory, which is subjected to the Italian jurisdiction. As stated by Article 6, comma II of the Protocol, the Albanian authorities are in fact responsible for maintaining order and public security within the outer limit of the centre. On the other hand, the Italian authorities are responsible for managing the internal structure of the centres and the stay of the migrants. They are also responsible for border procedures, the evaluation of the international protection requests and eventual return procedures. 

This structure has a key legal consequence: detention in these centres, although temporary, is of administrative nature and is therefore subject to the Italian administrative law. This results in the application of the principles of Article 97 of the Constitution, which require the Public Administration to operate in accordance with the principles of proportionality, good governance and cost-effectiveness. These principles, in the case in question, mean that the detention can only be justified if it is necessary and proportionate to the aim, and if resources are used appropriately. 

The economic and financial responsibility to build these centres is on the Italian government. It is estimated that the total sum amounts to € 73.480.000, after an initial allocation of € 39.200.000, foreseen by the Protocol ratification law 14/2024.

The economic resources come from different ministerial and executive funds, as illustrated in the table at page 6 of the focus “The cost of exception. Centers in Albania” realised by Action Aid and the University of Bari. The entity of the investment makes the themes of respect of the principles of cost-effectiveness and good governance central.

(In the focus “The cost of the exception. Centers in Albania” by Action Aid and the University of Bari, there is a table that identifies all costs and their funding sources on page 6).

The operate of the Italian government has been questioned by judges too, both Italian and European judges. Italian judges have systematically refused to validate detentions in Albania, resulting in the return of individuals to Italy (and an increase in transfer costs). Despite this, the government intervened by issuing Decree Law no. 158/2024, containing a list of countries of safe origin, according to its own descriptions. Subsequently, the government issued Decree Law no. 37/2025, which stipulated that all irregular foreign nationals present on Italian territory could also be transferred to Albania.

The Court of Justice of the European Union, with its judgement in joined cases C-758/24 and C-759/24 of August 1, 2025, declared the procedural mechanism of the protocol unlawful, stating that, until the new European regulation comes into force in June 2026, a State cannot designate as safe a third country that does not meet the criterion of safety for the entire population. 

The Supreme Court of Cassation also gave its view, in order no. 23105/2025, referring a second question to the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the conformity with EU law of the transfer to a non-member country of persons already subject to a detention order.

In this context, Action Aid submitted a complaint to the Court of Auditors, to “assess the exercise of fiscal action against responsible parties”.

According to Action Aid, investing in the centres in Albania could be a potential damage to the treasury, meaning an economic damage to public finances causes by inefficient or unreasonable management of resources.

At the same time, Action Aid has sent a report to the National Anti-Corruption Authority (ANAC), calling for checks on the procedures for awarding and managing contracts, which should have reached a total value of 133 million euros.

According to data, the daily cost per person in the centre of Gjader amounts to € 76,57, compared to € 28,55 in the centre of Modica, in Sicily. As Fabrizio Cortesi, Action Aid’s Migration Expert, affirms, the Sicilian model, already experimented on the national territory, should have represented a replicable solution. However, in the Albanian case, costs are significantly much higher, also because of the inclusion of the living expenses of Italian staff transferred abroad.  

“The centres in Albania will work” is a statement that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeated several times, despite the rulings of Italian and European courts, the systematic non-validation of transfers, and the progressive increase in costs. In light of available data, however, the question is no longer just whether the model works, but why public resources continue to be invested in an operation that has structural legal problems and limited results. The “Albanian model” also raises a wider question, of a European view: to what extent can the migratory emergency justify a progressive normalisation of exception, affecting fundamental rights?

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