The European Parliament’s Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize was presented on Wednesday, 21 October, in Strasbourg. It went to the report by Giacomo Zandonini and Maite Vermeulen, published on De Correspondent, on migrant hubs in Albania. This is a press prize. It is not a decision to close the centres.

The jury is independent, made of journalists from EU states. President Roberta Metsola and Vice-President Pina Picierno, who is responsible for the prize, took part in the ceremony. A jury representative handed over the award in the Daphne Caruana Galizia Press Room. Between 4 May and 31 July 2026 there were 344 entries; ten were shortlisted. The prize is 20,000 euros.

Parliament’s press release says the 18-month investigation looks at the deal under which Italy built a detention facility and asylum-processing centre on Albanian territory. The authors filed more than 30 freedom-of-information requests in six countries, plus the Commission, the Council and Frontex. Parliament writes that they were denied access to the Italian-run centres in Albania. That is a description of the winning work, not a court verdict and not a floor vote.

la Repubblica reported the ceremony. A headline that puts the “Albania model” on the prize table does not close the hubs. Vermeulen told Times of Malta that the 20,000 euros will go to further investigations. That is where the prize money is headed, not an EU closure fund.

The prize is named for the Maltese journalist killed in October 2017. It rewards, each year, journalism that defends EU values. It does not move migration policy and it does not cancel an agreement.

Strasbourg handed a trophy. Whether the centres stay open or close is another act.

Image: Syced, flags in front of the Louise Weiss building, Strasbourg, 8 December 2007, CC0, Wikimedia Commons; the building in 2007, not Wednesdays ceremony.

Sources consulted: An investigation into migrant hubs in Albania wins the Caruana Galizia Prize - la Repubblica, 21 October 2026; Migration deal investigation wins 2026 Daphne Caruana Galizia Journalism Prize - European Parliament, 21 October 2026.