A new seafood restaurant has opened in the Albanian coastal town of Shengjin. This in itself would not be particularly newsworthy, were it not for the fact that 70 portraits of the right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni decorate the walls of the restaurant.
The owner of Trattoria Meloni, Gjergj Luca, admires Giorgia Meloni, whom he describes as a woman "with a great soul."
Meloni is often in the headlines in Albania, among other things because Italy and Albania signed a controversial agreement in November 2023 that allowed Italy to construct and run two camps on Albanian soil to house male migrants picked up in international waters en route to Italy while their asylum claims are processed. After some delays, the two camps are expected to open soon. Italy hopes to send up to 36,000 asylum-seekers a year to Albania.
Luca's restaurant is situated not far from one of these camps, which is located further north in Gjader.
International NGOs and humanitarian groups consider the deal controversial and even illegal, and have criticized Italy's approach to curbing irregular migration.