German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was examining Italy’s deal to hold migrants in Albania and process their asylum requests there as European Union nations try to curb an influx of undocumented arrivals.
The comments on Saturday signal a tougher approach against immigration after his ruling coalition and state premiers agreed on a package of measures aimed at speeding up deportation of rejected asylum seekers and improving the integration of those allowed to stay in Germany.
Italy is building two processing centers on Albanian territory for migrants who initially landed in Italy. When asked about the plan, Scholz said that Albania itself would soon become a member of the EU. The Balkan country started talks on joining in July 2022 in a process that’s already been held up for years.
“In this respect, we are actually talking here about how we can tackle challenges and problems together in the European family,” Scholz told reporters at the sidelines of a party convention in Malaga, Spain. “And such deals, which have been taken into consideration there, are possible - and we will follow all of this closely,” he added.
Despite objections by his coalition partner, the Greens, Scholz and state premiers last week agreed to consider moving the asylum checking process to a third country, probably outside the EU.
Germany is also trying to seal migration deals with several African nations in which those governments would agree to take back rejected asylum seekers and, in return, Berlin would open legal ways of immigration for skilled workers.
