Italy’s scheme to offshore asylum claims should not be a model for the rest of Europe | Andreina De Leo and Marco Gerbaudo

Other leaders have expressed interest in Giorgia Meloni’s deal with Albania. But is it really a humane and effective strategy?

There’s much interest in the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’sdeal with Albania tooffshore asylum procedures, which started this week, in an attempt to tackle the rise of irregular migration.

Germany, which has announced new border regulations after suspected Islamist attacks and the rise of far-right anti-immigration political parties, is particularly keen to see how the arrangement works. And during a visit to Rome last month the UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, praised Meloni’s efforts to reduce migration flows, saying his “government of pragmatism” sought new approaches to managing the issue.

Andreina De Leo is a PhD researcher at Maastricht University. Marco Gerbaudo is a PhD researcher at Bocconi University and a Blest fellow