A deal with Albania a to build two centres in the EU candidate country to process the asylum claims of migrants rescued at sea by Italy is a "move in the right direction", according to foreign minister Antonio Tajani.
"We are convinced that there is work to be done at the European level to deal with migration. It cannot be solved at the Italian level," Tajani told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a European election rally in Naples.
"Cooperation with Albania is cooperation with an EU candidate country so it's a move in the right direction," Tajani added.
Italy's hard-right premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday visited the migrant centre sites being built in the port city of Shengjin and the nearby town of Gjader, announcing they will both open in August.
The centres will initially be able to process 1,000 migrants per month. That number will rise to 3,000 each month once the centres are operating at full capacity as agreed in the November deal, Meloni told reporters at a press conference with Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.
The November accord drew criticism from opposition, rights groups, the Catholic Church and the Council of Europe watchdog. But the deal was welcomed by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as a possible blueprint for other European countries.
