Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized judges on Friday for ruling against the right-wing government’s initiative to hold 12 migrants at newly established centres in Albania.
This marks a significant obstacle in the administration’s strategy to transfer some of its migrant processing to the Balkan nation.
During a visit to Lebanon, Meloni told reporters that labelling countries like Bangladesh and Egypt as unsafe would effectively exclude nearly all migrants from the Albania program, rendering it impractical.
Meloni argued, ”It’s challenging to address the needs of this nation when there is opposition from certain institutions that are supposed to assist in solving its issues. I believe the ruling by the judges in Rome is biased. This is evident as some judges had already criticized the agreement with Albania before even considering the details. It’s also noteworthy that this decision was announced yesterday by some members of the Democratic Party.”
The ruling marks an initial obstacle in the agreement between Italy and Albania that Meloni’s administration has praised as a new “model” for addressing illegal migration.
“The concern extends beyond Albania. The judges essentially indicate that there are no safe countries. Therefore, I declare that the issue is not specific to Albania. The real problem is that repatriation is no longer feasible. The challenge lies in the inability to send people away. Additionally, it is impossible to implement any policies that effectively secure your borders, so I hope they can provide solutions,” Meloni concluded.
The interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, announced that the government plans to challenge the ruling, and she indicated that a Cabinet meeting would be held on Monday to address the matter.
16 migrants, 10 from Bangladesh and 6 from Egypt, were moved to Albania by an Italian navy ship on Wednesday, following government directives.
This transfer was part of the accelerated border procedures outlined in the Italy-Albania agreement. However, they are now required to be sent back to Italy.
Italy will spend 670 million euros ($730 million) over the next five years on the centres.
These facilities are managed by Italy and fall under its jurisdiction, with Albanian guards providing external security.
Italy has committed to accepting migrants who receive asylum, while those whose applications are denied will be deported directly from Albania.
This contentious deal to house asylum-seekers in a non-EU country has been praised by several nations facing high migrant influxes, similar to Italy.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has supported the agreement, calling it an example of innovative thinking in addressing migration challenges within the European Union.