Italy fails to open disputed Albania migrant camp on time

(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).