Dutch investigative platform De Correspondent won the European Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism on Wednesday for its report on human rights violations tied to Italy’s migration deal with Albania.
The investigation, published in January 2026 by journalists Maite Vermeulen and Giacomo Zandonini, examined two Italian-run migrant centers in Shëngjin and Gjadër, Albania, where asylum seekers were detained while their applications were processed. The report, titled *"Cuffed, caged, cast away: this is Europe’s ‘innovative solution’ for unwanted migrants,"* documented violations of European law and fundamental rights, including the transfer of migrants to facilities outside the EU under a 2024 agreement now repurposed to detain irregular migrants ahead of deportation.
The jury, composed of journalists from all EU member states, awarded the prize during a ceremony in Strasbourg. Vermeulen told Euronews the Italian model was “a big PR operation” rather than an effective policy, noting that €259 million was spent on the facilities over two years to detain 256 people—roughly €1 million per person. She argued other EU countries could not replicate the approach without breaching human rights.
The investigation also exposed obstacles to transparency: journalists were denied access to the centers, freedom of information requests went unanswered, staff signed non-disclosure agreements, and contracts were withheld. The report warned the deal could serve as a blueprint for eroding human rights and normalizing far-right migration policies, as five EU countries seek to establish similar return hubs in Africa by 2027 under a new EU legal framework.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola attended the ceremony and reaffirmed the institution’s support for investigative journalism and press freedom. The prize, established in 2019, honors Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese journalist assassinated in 2017, and includes a €20,000 award. This year’s competition drew 344 submissions from across the EU, with 10 finalists selected before De Correspondent’s report was chosen as the winner.
