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18:30 POLITICS

Meeting in Shkodra/ Rama "provokes" protesters, wears a flamingo T-shirt

Prime Minister Edi Rama is in the city of Shkodra this Mon...

Is Albania saved?/ Meloni and Sunak agree that the emigrants should return to Tunisia

2023-12-17 21:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Is Albania saved?/ Meloni and Sunak agree that the emigrants should return to

Rama, Meloni, Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's approach to tackling illegal migration on Saturday, on a visit to Rome, they agreed to co-finance a project to help migrants return home from Tunisia.

The two leaders held official talks in Meloni's office and the conservative leader also gave a speech at a meeting of her far-right Brothers of Italy party.

They have pledged to stop the landing of migrant boats on their country's shores, and in his speech, Sunak hailed the willingness of both to "break from the consensus".

Both have also faced strong criticism for their policies, from Sunak's plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, to Meloni's moves to limit the activities of charity rescue ships in the Mediterranean.

In their meeting, Sunak and Meloni agreed to fund a project to help repatriate migrants to Tunisia, the departure point for many migrants trying to reach Europe.

They "commit to co-fund a project to promote and assist the voluntary return of Tunisian migrants to their countries of origin," Downing Street said.

Meloni's office said this would be in line with existing UN projects, without giving further details.

A good relationship

Sunak and Meloni have developed a good relationship since they both took office in October 2022, and on Saturday he hailed her "conviction and determination". He compared her to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and said they needed some of the Iron Lady's "radicalism" to tackle mass migration.

"If we don't address this problem, the numbers will only increase. It will overwhelm our countries and our capacity to help those who actually need our help the most," he said. They agreed at their meeting to step up efforts to combat people smugglers, but Sunak said deterring people was also essential.

"Making this obstacle credible means doing things differently, breaking away from the consensus. And Giorgia and I are prepared to do that," he said. He also mentioned an agreement with Albania agreed a year ago, according to which Albanians who arrive in the UK in small boats via the Channel can be returned immediately.

Since then, the number of Albanians arriving in Great Britain had fallen by 90%, Sunak said. Last month, Meloni also agreed to a deal with Albania to build two centers in the country to house asylum seekers caught at sea by the Italian coast guard.

This agreement has aroused criticism in both countries and the Constitutional Court of Albania has temporarily blocked its ratification by the legislators. Sunak and Meloni also met on Saturday with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who addressed the Atreju conference, saying he was "confident" the deal with Italy would go ahead. AFP/ CNA