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Full Screen Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. File image. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino/AP/TT
A judge in Italy on Friday rejected the movement of migrants, who tried to get to Italy, to camps in Albania.
As a result, 43 migrants who have already been brought to Albania must be returned to Italy. At the same time, the judge in an appeal court in Rome referred the matter to the European Court of Justice ECJ.
The verdict means a setback, Giorgia Meloni’s outer right government and its disputed migration policy. Previous transfers of migrants to Albania have been stopped when migrants come from countries that are not considered safe – and thus cannot be sent back to their home countries.
The 48 migrants taken care of by Italian Coast Guard came from, among others, Bangladesh, Egypt and Gambia. The court decision applies to 43 of the migrants.
Italy and Albania entered into an agreement in the autumn of 2023, which means that Italian authorities may operate asylum facilities in Albania, where migrants that are stopped on the Mediterranean will be held while seeking asylum in Italy. Albania is not in the EU.
The question of the rights of migrants and the Italian migration policy is raised by ECJ on February 25.