First migrants reach Italy's controversial Albanian processing center

The first group of migrants has arrived at Italy's controversial new processing center in Albania.

Sixteen Egyptian and Bangladeshi men - who were picked up in the Mediterranean Sea after trying to reach the European Union from Libya - were taken to the port of Shengjin by an Italian naval vessel. After being processed by Italian officials, they will be housed in another facility a short drive away.

Italy is now the first member of the EU to process migrants outside the bloc's borders.

Mounting anger

The facilities are the result of a deal signed by Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albania's leader Edi Rama last year. They are designed to process 3,000 migrants each month.

Since the agreement was announced, opposition politicians have attacked Meloni's coalition government over its migration policy.

Riccardo Magi, an opposition member of parliament, has described the centers as the "Italian Guantanamo", a reference to the U.S. detention facilities at its military base in Cuba.

Migrant rights groups in Italy and overseas have also been fiercely critical.

Marta Welander, EU Advocacy Director for the International Rescue Committee, called it "a dark day for the EU's asylum and migration policies." He blasted: "Keeping people trapped behind barbed wire, deliberately out of sight and out of mind, is not a sustainable solution to Europe's migration challenges."

According to Welander: "While the number of people arriving in Italy has diminished in recent months, the number attempting the treacherous crossing to Spain has soared. These approaches do not prevent people risking their lives to reach Europe, they simply drive them onto ever more dangerous routes." 

The Italian government has insisted that only "non-vulnerable men" from countries judged to be "safe" will be sent to Albania. It also says the men will be under Italian jurisdiction throughout.

Potential model for the EU

The first group of migrants arrived at the new facility as the Italian Prime Minister was preparing for a two-day European leaders' summit in Brussels.

Meloni will co-host an informal meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday to discuss "innovative solutions" to irregular migration.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has previously worked closely with Meloni on migration policy, wrote in a recent letter to EU leaders that the bloc should "explore possible ways forward as regards the idea of developing return hubs outside the EU."