UK PM Starmer Expands Balkan Migration Taskforce During Albania Visit

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made the first official visit by a British PM to Albania to strengthen cooperation on tackling illegal migration and expanding successful joint initiatives across the Western Balkans. The partnership with Albania has been credited with a 95% reduction in Albanian small boat arrivals to the UK over the past three years and a doubling in the number of Albanians returned home. During the visit, Starmer and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama agreed to update the UK-Albania Strategic Partnership and expand the Joint Migration Taskforce to include Kosovo, North Macedonia, and potentially Montenegro, enhancing intelligence sharing and deploying UK-funded drones to disrupt smuggling networks. The UK government aims to build on this model with other European partners to better manage illegal migration, while also bolstering defense cooperation and economic ties with Albania. These efforts align with the broader goals outlined in the UK's recent Immigration White Paper to reduce net migration and crack down on criminal networks facilitating illegal crossings. Both leaders highlighted the visit's timing ahead of the European Political Community summit as a moment to demonstrate solidarity on security and migration issues in Europe.