Former Italian Prime Minister and leader of the Italia Viva party, Matteo Renzi, visited the Gjadri camp in Albania today, where he harshly criticized the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for its management of public funds, writes A2 CNN. Renzi accused the government of having wasted almost 1 billion euros in the construction of centers for immigrants in Albania, which are currently empty.
During the visit, Renzi proposed that these centers be converted into prisons for Albanian citizens convicted in Italy, arguing that this would allow them to be closer to their families and ease the overcrowding of Italian prisons. He stressed that this proposal would be a more beneficial solution than keeping the centers empty, calling the current project a failure and a waste of public resources.
"Through an agreement with the Albanian state, the centers of Gjadri and Shëngjin will be turned into prisons for Albanians serving sentences in Italy. We are here to give a clear message. We have also articulated this idea in the Italian Parliament. I look at the budget issues, here the Italian state lost almost 1 billion euros from the Italian budget. With so much money in Italy we could build hundreds of such centers. Apart from the Meloni-Rama friendship, what is the reason these centers were built?" said the former Italian prime minister.
The Gjadri camp, along with the one in Shëngjin, were built as part of an agreement between the governments of Italy and Albania to receive migrants detained at sea by Italian authorities, writes A2 CNN. However, these centers have remained empty due to court decisions in Italy that have prevented the transfer of migrants to Albania. This has drawn strong criticism from the Italian opposition, which considers the agreement a failure and a waste of public funds.
Renzi also warned that this project could damage Albania's integration process into the European Union, distancing the country from European standards and values. He stressed that Albania has the potential to become part of the EU, but such projects could hinder this journey.
Renzi's criticism follows those of other Italian opposition leaders, who have opposed the agreement between Italy and Albania on migrant management, calling it a violation of international law and a failure of government policies. (A2 Televizion)
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