Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani has stated that Kosovo would be open to discussing the issue of hosting centers for illegal immigrants seeking entry into the United Kingdom.
Her comments come a day after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama denied having any agreement with Britain similar to the one it has with Italy. Rama’s denial was reportedly considered a “humiliating blow” by British media to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been in Tirana for two days. Starmer has been attempting to promote a plan to establish similar centers in third countries to accommodate asylum seekers rejected by the UK. During a press conference in Tirana, Starmer indicated that he was discussing such an arrangement with several other nations.
When questioned by “Sky News” on Friday about the matter, President Osmani clarified that she had not discussed such centers with Starmer.
“There have been no official talks with Great Britain on this issue. It has not been raised so far. We would be open to discussing it. However, I cannot say more than that, as I do not know the details. I cannot answer a request that has not been posed so far,” she said.
Osmani referred to Great Britain as an “unwavering ally” of Kosovo.
According to UK data, approximately 22,000 people used the Western Balkans route to enter Europe last year.
There have been reports suggesting that Britain is in discussions with nine countries regarding refugee centers. Six Western Balkan nations – Kosovo, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia – are reportedly being considered as potential bases for the UK to combat illegal immigration.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Kosovo last month and also signed an agreement with Serbia to combat smuggling.
The “Sky News” article highlighted that Kosovo, as one of Europe’s poorest countries, has already reached an agreement with Denmark to accept 300 foreign prisoners to serve their sentences in Kosovo before deportation. This agreement, reached in 2021 in exchange for 200 million euros, has yet to be implemented.
The Italian asylum center in Albania is a facility built by Italy to receive and process asylum applications from migrants intercepted in Italian waters. In these centers in Albania, decisions are made on whether to accept the migrants into Italy or return them to their home countries. Albania guarantees security, while the centers are managed by Italian authorities. The project is planned to last five years.
