Derailed

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The first group of migrants sent to newly opened processing centers in Albania was returned to Italy over the weekend, following a ruling by a Rome court that observers said marked a major setback for the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ambitious new migration policy, Politico reported.

Last week, an Italian ship carried 16 Bangladeshi and Egyptian migrants from Italy to northwestern Albania to have their asylum claims processed. But shortly after their arrival, center staff rejected four migrants because screenings identified two as children and two as vulnerable, both forbidden by the migration offshoring agreement.

Then on Friday, a Rome court found that the remaining 12 migrants should be returned to Italy because they were from countries considered unsafe to be returned to.

The decision was based on a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling earlier this month that countries outside the European Union cannot be considered safe for migrants unless their entire home territory is deemed free from persecution or inhumane treatment, the BBC noted.

The ruling dealt a significant blow to a five-year agreement signed in 2023 between Albania and Italy that would have seen up to 36,000 male migrants intercepted in international waters being processed at two centers in Albania.

The Italian government has touted the plan as a model for Europe to combat the migration crisis and the scheme has attracted the attention of many EU leaders, as some governments are looking into similar offshore processing centers.

However, the court’s verdict is expected to cause a dispute between the Italian government and the judiciary. Meloni and other officials vowed to appeal the decision.

On Monday, the government adopted a decree aimed at overruling the court’s verdict, according to Reuters. Officials amended the legal status of Italy’s list of safe countries – which includes Egypt and Bangladesh.

The list is included in an act of law, instead of a lower ministerial decree.

Still, legal analysts questioned if it would work, adding that European law could still challenge the revised legislation.

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