After UK drop, EU sees decline in Albanian asylum seekers in 2023

The number of Albanian asylum seekers in the EU dropped significantly during the first two months of 2023, according to data from Eurostat, echoing a trend seen in the UK after 2022, where a surge of Albanian nationals caused tensions between the two countries.

Between January and February 2023, 1675 Albanians sought asylum in one EU member state, a decrease of 14% in the same period in 2022.

In total, 13,600 Albanians applied in the bloc during 2022, the highest level since 2020, while almost 16,000 made requests in the UK.

The long-standing trend of Albanians leaving their homeland has been a topic of concern for decades, with 1.4 million people emigrating since the end of communism in 1991. In the last ten years alone, a further 700,000 have joined the exodus, primarily made up of the younger generation.

The phenomenon peaked in 2015 when some 67,000 Albanians applied to the EU (which at the time included the UK) in just one year.

However, the mass departure of Albanians in 2022 caused a stir in British politics, with the Conservative Party facing criticism for their perceived harsh rhetoric against Albanians. In Europe, decreasing unfounded asylum applications has been made a part of the country’s EU accession process.

Significant drop in Albanians crossing The Channel in 2023

Just 29 Albanians crossed The Channel by boat during the first three months of 2023, a stark contrast to the 12,310 that made the journey in 2022, sparking international headlines and causing diplomatic tensions between Tirana and London.

Albanians have been …

In terms of the EU, France is top of the list for Albanians, with 42% of applicants, followed by Germany, with 23%. Germany is also preferred for regular Albanian migrants who emigrate for work reasons, particularly doctors and nurses.

The sudden surge in emigration from Albania has brought attention to the underlying issues driving people away from their homes and has prompted calls for international action to address these problems.

Albanian asylum applications in EU soar amid calls to clamp down

Asylum applications of Albanian citizens in the EU increased by 68% over the summer compared to the same period last year, bringing the total to 6,860, despite international calls to clamp down on the issue.

This figure, derived from preliminary Eurostat …

Reasons behind the mass departure of Albanians are multiple and complex but include poverty and low salaries, the increased cost of living, corruption, and a perceived lack of opportunities. Many migrants have more personal reasons, including needing to support entire extended families, which is expected of young men but impossible on the current minimum wage.

This melting pot has also been massaged by the use of social media by traffickers to lure Albanians into parting with money in return for a one-way ticket to the UK or an EU country, often with the promise of a job and accommodation at the other end.

But out of all the unfounded requests, at least 4% are approved on the grounds of domestic violence, fleeing organised crime, human and sex trafficking, and blood feuds.

A 2020 interview with Petya Nestorova, the executive secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), highlighted the risks of sending victims of crime back to Albania.

“It’s important to consider all risks before sending them back to Albania…In France, women have been granted asylum after being trafficked because returning to Albania is seen as carrying risks… this should be used more,” she said, adding that “returning women to places where they will be ostracised is not a way to combat human trafficking.”

Another worrying trend is the apparent increase in unaccompanied Albanian children seeking asylum. An Albanian child rights organisation, CRCA/ECPAT, recently sounded the alarm over 60,000 minors who have applied for asylum outside the country during the last 10 years. This is equivalent to one in ten of all under-18s in Albania.

“During the last 10 years, the numbers of children from Albania requesting asylum have increased exponentially, creating a generation of unaccompanied children, vulnerable to violence, exploitation, slavery, and crime,” they said in an open letter, calling on Parliament to open an inquiry into the status and whereabouts of the missing children.

UK government lost 176 Albanian child asylum seekers, didn't notify Tirana

Out of 200 asylum-seeking children that have gone missing from hotels provided by the British, Government, 88% were Albanian, according to Minister Lord Murray, sparking outrage in Tirana over the lack of responsibility from UK authorities and the fact that …

This situation came to a head again in January when the UK admitted it had lost almost 200 Albanian child asylum seekers from asylum hotels, did not know where they were, and had not notified Tirana of the situation.

Albania has been consistently asked to step up efforts against “illegal immigration and unfounded asylum seekers”, but things are hardly improving. A survey published in June 2020 by the Regional Cooperation Council, an intergovernmental body in southeast Europe, found that almost half of Albanians are actively planning to leave the country.

This means they are looking for jobs, applying for visas, or preparing to leave. Over 60% want to leave, according to 2019 figures published by Gallup.

Edi Rama Interview: I cannot tell young people not to leave

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said he cannot tell his country’s young people not to leave for a life abroad, but what is important is tackling exploitation and people trafficking and ensuring that some of those that go, come back.

Rama …

In an interview with EURACTIV in December 2022, Prime Minister Edi Rama said he cannot tell people not to leave the country but hopes they return.

“I have never thought, and I still don’t think that it’s a good idea to believe and let alone communicate, that the young people should absolutely stay here because I think they have the right to try, and they should make use of their freedom, and it’s absolutely in their hands,” Rama said when asked how such figures make him feel.

“These people return with a different mentality, they come with some experience, and they open enterprises, they do things differently, and they make successes,” he said, giving agriculture as an example.

In an episode of his podcast in March 2023, he said he believes social media also shows Albanians a perspective of the outside world that makes them want a part of it for themselves, even if it is not particularly realistic.

Meanwhile, the opposition political forces accuse Rama of being responsible for the mass exodus of citizens through corruption and poor economic policies.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)