Italy has once again transferred migrants to Albania, despite previous legal defeats, after an Italian Navy ship carrying 49 refugees docked in the port of the Albanian city of Shëngjin, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Tuesday.
The asylum applications for these individuals who had travelled for days across the Mediterranean are now set to be decided in the reception centre in Albania.
Italy is the first European Union state to establish camps outside the EU to decide on migrants’ asylum applications.
The Albania model of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government is controversial. Other European governments, however, are closely monitoring the approach.
The first two attempts in October and November failed in the courts.
Italian authorities picked up migrants in the central Mediterranean and transported them to reception centres in Albania. On both occasions, the people ultimately had to be brought back to Italy after judges ruled that they did not come from safe countries of origin.
Tuesday’s 49 migrants are men from Bangladesh, Egypt, Gambia and Ivory Coast.
Before their journey to Albania, they were stopped on a boat in the Mediterranean on their way to Europe, off the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.
For many years, Italy has been one of the countries most affected by the migration movement across the Mediterranean.
Although significantly fewer migrants arrived on Italy’s shores last year compared to 2023, over 3,000 people have arrived this January alone — more than double the number in the same period the previous year, when the number was approximately 1,300.
The dispute between the government and the judiciary fundamentally revolves around which countries of origin can be deemed safe and who has the authority to determine this.
Recently, a decision by the Supreme Court seems to grant more leeway to the government. However, the legal situation remains not entirely clear.
Therefore, as with the first two attempts, it is uncertain whether the migrants will undergo the expedited asylum process in the camps on Albanian soil as intended, or perhaps be allowed into Italy.
The European Court of Justice is expected to clarify in February whether Italy’s approach is compatible with EU law. The decision is eagerly awaited in Rome.
