(ANSA-AFP) - SHÓNGJIN, AUG 1 - Italy and Albania failed to
meet a deadline on Thursday to open a controversial camp to hold
migrants in the Balkan country until their asylum applications
are processed. The facility is the cornerstone of a highly
contested deal signed between Rome and Albania to sort migrants
rescued at sea in Italian waters. Those deemed the most
vulnerable are due to be taken to Italy, with the rest sent back
outside of the EU to the Albanian port of Shengjin. Once there,
the migrants will be taken to another centre at a former
military base in Gjader while they wait for their claims to be
processed. "The complex of the two centres will be operational
from August 1," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni vowed
during a visit to Albania in early June. Despite the promises
that they would be up and running by Thursday, the reality on
the ground was very different. AFP discovered that just a few
housing units had been assembled in the Gjader camp after
visiting the site this week, with little sign it would be
finished anytime soon. Italian authorities - who are responsible
for both building and running the camps - have been reluctant to
provide a new date. Asylum seekers sent to Gjader will live in
small units surrounded by high walls until their requests are
dealt with by the Italian courts. Meloni - the leader of the
far-right Brothers of Italy party (FdI) - said the facility
would have an initial capacity of around 1,000 people and would
be gradually expanded to hold 3,000. (ANSA-AFP).
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