French premier says Italy-Albania migrant deal can't be 'transposed' to France

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) — French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has expressed doubts that a recent migrant deal between Italy and Albania would work for his country.

"I don’t think this example can be transposed (to France)," Barnier told reporters Friday in Menton, a French town near the border with Italy, citing legal obstacles, regional news website Euronews reported.

Last week, Italy formally opened two migrant reception centers in Albania, where it plans to process up to 3,000 migrants and refugees monthly outside its territory. The agreement was signed last year between Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.

Since taking office in 2022, the right-wing Meloni government has been reaching out to third countries in a bid to stem sea-bound irregular migrant flows to Italy, which in 2023 rose by around 50% from the previous year, the agency noted.

The Italian-run centers in Schengjin and Gjiader became operational last week.