The Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has said his country is being unfairly blamed for the UK migrant crisis and that the problem would be solved if the government gave visas to young Albanians.
According to The Telegraph:
Albania’s prime minister has demanded Britain provide his country’s young with visas if it wants to solve the migrant crisis, as he claimed it was being unfairly blamed.
In a series of strongly worded tweets, Edi Rama told Britain to stop blaming “innocent” Albanians for the crisis in a rebuke to Home Secretary Suella Braveman’s “insane” rhetoric.
He said targeting Albanians as the cause of Britain’s crime and border problems made for “easy rhetoric but ignores hard fact”.
Some 12,000 Albanians have reached the UK this year after crossing the Channel – a quarter of the total 40,000, with Home Office officials attributing the “exponential rise” to Albanian criminal gangs gaining a foothold in northern France.
However, Mr Rama said Britain should do the same as Germany in 2020 when it was faced with a surge in illegal migration from Albania. It introduced a visa system for skilled workers from the Balkans provided they learned the language first – and toughened controls on those who entered illegally.
“When Germany had a similar problem it tightened its own systems. The UK can and should do the same, not respond with a rhetoric of crime that ends up punishing the innocent,” said Mr Rama.
His comments could cast a shadow over efforts by Mrs Braverman and immigration minister Robert Jenrick to negotiate a new bespoke fast-track route with Albania to return thousands of its migrants from the Balkan state who have crossed the Channel in small boats.
It is understood Mr Jenrick is due to travel to Albania in the next fortnight to meet with Mr Rama who said Albania was “ready to work closer with the UK but facts are crucial. So is mutual respect”.
James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, met with Albanian prime minister Edi Rama on Wednesday night to discuss the crisis.
“We agree that we must break the business model of people smugglers who are putting lives at risk. We also discussed energy and regional security,” Mr Cleverly tweeted.
The Albanian Prime Minister’s proposal is a reasonable one. On the face of it, it makes sense to offer visas to skilled workers providing they learn to speak English first, while at the same time throwing out those who have entered illegally.
However, that overlooks the problem that there are millions of people on NHS waiting lists. Millions more can’t get a dental appointment. It’s an ordeal to book an appointment with a GP.
The country hasn’t enough affordable homes for the existing population. Millions of people are on local authority housing lists as it stands.
Throw into the mix tens of thousands of migrants arriving here every few months (skilled or otherwise) without building the infrastructure to cope with the increasing demand on services and you invite disaster.
Maybe there really is method in the madness.
