The agreement between London and Tirana on the transfer of Albanian prisoners is proving to be far from its stated targets. Instead of the 200 people who, according to British media, were expected to be brought to Albania to continue serving their sentences, only 13 have been transferred in three years.
The figures highlight the gap between the plan and the result
According to The Sun on Sunday, the agreement between the British and Albanian governments, worth £8 million, was designed with the aim of transferring 200 Albanian prisoners from prisons in England to prisons in Albania.
But the balance so far shows a very different result: only 13 people have been transferred over the past three years to continue serving their sentences in their home country.
The reported version: obstacles in the recognition of rulings by Albanian courts
According to the British media outlet, citing sources from the Ministry of Justice in Tirana, the slow pace of transfers is linked to delays in Albanian courts.
The procedure requires that, for every prisoner with more than four years left on their sentence, Albanian courts must recognize the ruling handed down by English courts before the transfer can move forward. It is precisely at this stage, according to this version, that the process has stalled.
High cost for London, modest result on the ground
The report also highlights the financial cost of keeping a prisoner in England, calculated at £56,000.
This makes the contrast between the amount mentioned for the agreement and the actual number of transfers carried out so far even more striking.
940 Albanians currently in English prisons
According to the same report, Albanian prisoners have made up the largest group among foreign inmates in England over the past seven years.
At present, 940 Albanian nationals are in English prisons, mainly convicted for involvement in cocaine dealing or setting up cannabis farms.
The published figures raise serious questions about the agreement’s real effectiveness and the institutional capacity to implement it in practice.
Beyond the political announcements and high expectations, the concrete result so far remains limited: 13 transfers in three years.