Horizont ČT24 | Immigration centre in Albania

A large-scale immigration centre is to be operational in Albania from August. Rome is building it to take illegal migrants intercepted at sea out of its territory until the asylum process is completed. Critics say the plan is unfair to migrants because it will disproportionately prolong their stay in the European Union when they are assessed. Is this an effective solution or is it just part of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's election campaign? Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Horizont ČT24.

It's clearly part of the election campaign now. It is happening in the context of this being a long-term problem for Italy. Giorgia Meloni is trying to do something that Matteo Salvini, who once won an election on it, failed to do. It looks like an interesting attempt, but I would see it as a first swallow so far to try to tackle the problem of migration outside Europe's borders, which is not a new idea. It is hard to judge what it will look like in practice.

You can watch the whole interview here from 3:40.

Viktor Daněk
Deputy Director

Before entering the NGO sphere, Viktor Daněk worked for almost ten years as a journalist. During his time with the public service Czech radio, he focused mainly on covering EU affairs. He spent almost five years as a permanent correspondent in Brussels, where he cooperated with other media outlets. Before his career in journalism, he gained experience in the area of marketing and communication in the Česká spořitelna banking group and at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He holds university degrees in Media Studies and International Relations. Viktor Daněk joined the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2023. He continues to be active in the media as a freelancer. His main areas of interest are institutional questions of European integration, globalisation and the EU’s climate and migration policy.