An Italian navy ship has transported the first 12 migrants from newly opened asylum processing centers in Albania back to Italy. The migrants were taken to the southern port of Bari and then transferred to a local hosting center for asylum seekers.
This action follows a court ruling in Rome that rejected the detention of these migrants, who hail from Bangladesh and Egypt. The court argued that their countries of origin were not safe enough for them to be sent back.
The court decision has posed a challenge to a five-year agreement between Italy and Albania, which aims to have Tirana host 3,000 migrants per month rescued by the Italian coast guard in international waters. These migrants will undergo vetting for possible asylum in Italy or potential return to their home countries.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has praised the deal as a new model for managing illegal migration. However, the recent court ruling has raised concerns about the feasibility of the program, as it could potentially bar a significant number of migrants from participating.
The Italian navy ship retrieved the 12 migrants from the port of Shengjin, located northwest of Tirana. Earlier in the week, four other migrants had already been rejected by the hosting center staff, with two deemed vulnerable after health checks and two identified as minors.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has announced that the government plans to appeal the court ruling. The decision to consider countries like Bangladesh and Egypt as unsafe for returnees is based on international precedents that recognize discrimination or persecution as grounds for such determinations.
Under the agreement, Italy will welcome migrants granted asylum, while those with rejected applications face deportation directly from Albania. The outsourcing of asylum-seeker housing to a non-EU member country has drawn mixed reactions, with some countries viewing it as a positive step in addressing migrant arrivals, while human rights organizations have expressed concerns about setting a dangerous precedent.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has endorsed the agreement as an innovative approach to addressing migration challenges within the European Union.
