Albania migration Crisis

Subject :International relations

Section : Places in news

Context:

The UK recorded a spike in Albanians illegally entering the country in small boats across the English Channel last year.

More about the news:

12,301 Albanian nationals made the journey across the Channel in 2022, more than any other nationality in the world.
In 2022, Albanians accounted for 28 per cent of arrivals in small boats. For context, 8,633 migrants (less than 19 per cent) came via small boats from Afghanistan. India makes up for under 1.5 per cent.

Reason for the migration:

Albania is also one of the poorest countries in Europe
More than half of Albanians were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2020, the highest percentage in Europe.

How the UK became a destination:

Migration out of Albania pre-dates the spike seen in the UK. Historically, Albanians have migrated to neighbouring countries such as Italy and Greece, but this trend changed after the 2008 financial crisis, which hit these countries very hard. Since then, there has been an ever-growing number of Albanian migrants to northern and western Europe, with France and UK being preferred destinations.
Moreover,the emergence of the UK as a destination is linked to the workings of organised crime groups across the Channel, in northern France

What was UK response:

The UK signed a cooperation agreement with Albania in December 2022, which has come down hard on illegal migration from the country.
This agreement has declared Albania to be a “safe country”, making it much harder for migrants to be granted political asylum, and also raised the threshold someone has to meet to be considered a victim of “modern slavery” – a common basis for asylum claims.

More about Albania:

Officially known as the Republic of Albania is a country in Southeastern Europe.
It is situated in the Balkans, and is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea
It shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the
Tirana is its capital and largest city.
Albania joined the UNSC as a non permanent member for the first time in 2022.