Kosovo’s Kurti against Italy-Albania migration models in the Balkans

Good morning from Brussels,

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti rejected replicating the Italy-Albania migration deal in the Western Balkans, saying it would not bring solutions but rather human rights concerns.

If the same model was used in other countries, “how can we ensure that the rights of incarcerated individuals are respected?” Kurti said in an interview with Euractiv’s Laurent Geslin.

Kurti’s comments echo the criticism already made by civil society organisations, which have warned that the scheme risks human rights.

The Italy-Albania model was discussed at a summit last week, but not all leaders agreed. It was not explicitly mentioned in the final conclusions but only indirectly:

“New ways to prevent and counter irregular migration should be considered”, the conclusions read.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Giorgia Meloni’s government passed a new decree on Monday evening to circumvent a recent ruling from the Rome tribunal and European Court of Justice (ECJ) obligations that had challenged its migration outsourcing model with Albania.

Former EU commissioner Thierry Breton had an “excellent meeting” with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest on Monday evening, Breton said on X. Euractiv’s Nicholas Wallace got a comment from Breton about the meeting, which, among others, also focused on the upcoming US elections.

Meanwhile, EU Parliament chief Roberta Metsola and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement on Monday evening laying the groundwork for better parliamentarians' inclusion in EU lawmaking.

Regarding Moldova, the country voted by a slim margin in favour of anchoring EU membership in its constitution. The result was hailed by Washington, which also warned about the runoff vote on 3 November. Meanwhile, the EU is already worried about the country’s parliamentary elections next year and Slovak experts called for urgent need for EU support to bolster democratic institutions and counter disinformation.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe]