Albanian Premier Edi Rama said on
Saturday he is confident in a positive outcome for the agreement
with Italy on migrant reception and processing in the Adriatic
country, after the Albanian constitutional court suspended its
ratification in parliament pending a decision on challenges to
the plan.
"The Albanian Constitutional Court has done its duty, because
according to the Constitution agreements are suspended
automatically for consideration before they are ratified by
parliament," Rama told the Atreju rally of Premier Giorgia
Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI) party in Rome.
"It is proof that I do not control the courts in Albania," he
added.
In early November Rama and Meloni signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to set up two centres in Albania to process the
asylum applications of migrants and refugees who have been
rescued at sea by Italian navy, coast guard and police vessels.
The elderly, vulnerable, children or pregnant women, migrants
and refugees who have been rescued by NGO-run ships and people
who land directly on Italian soil are to be excluded from the
deal.
Rama said he is "confident" in the court's assessment of the
agreement because it "has nothing unconstitutional" and that he
expects a decision to be taken "much sooner" than the March
deadline.
"It is a very important agreement and we need both governments
to know whether they can go ahead or not," he added.
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