STRASBOURG — The European Parliament awarded its 2026 journalism prize to an investigation of Italy’s migrant centers in Albania, bringing attention to a detention project whose costs and legal status remain under scrutiny.
The Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism went to Maite Vermeulen, Giacomo Zandonini and the team at Dutch platform De Correspondent for their investigation, “Cuffed, caged, cast away: this is Europe’s ‘innovative solution’ for unwanted migrants.” The report examined facilities Italy operates under a migration protocol signed with Albania on Nov. 6, 2023.
De Correspondent’s authors estimated that the project incurred €259 million in expenditure during its first two years, when 256 people were detained. They said the estimate may be low because they could not determine some expenses, including migrant transport. It is the investigation’s estimate, not an audited government accounting.
The protocol gives Italy use of designated areas in Albania without charge, while making Italy responsible for the costs of implementing the agreement, according to an Italian Chamber of Deputies summary. De Correspondent described the arrangement as a deterrent and a possible model for moving migration processing and detention outside the European Union. Its investigation also compared the approach with Australia’s “Pacific Solution” and the United Kingdom’s Rwanda plan.
The prize was awarded five days after Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2026/2280 began applying. The provision permits return arrangements with non-EU countries, subject to international law and the principle of non-refoulement. The Council of the European Union says unaccompanied minors are excluded. Most of the regulation is scheduled to apply from Oct. 17, 2027.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has not issued a judgment on legal challenges to Italy’s protocol. In April, Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou found the arrangement compatible with EU law in principle if migrants’ individual rights and asylum protections are preserved. In June, Advocate General Laila Medina said EU law bars member states from making asylum agreements in a harmonized area when they are likely to affect shared EU rules or change their scope; she also said relevant EU directives apply at the facilities. Both opinions are nonbinding, and the court’s case records list no judgment date.
