An Italian coast guard ship picked up migrants held in reception centers in Albania on Saturday to transfer them to Italy, after a court ruling dealt a blow to Rome’s plans to house migrants picked up at sea outside the European Union (EU).
The Italian government vowed on Friday to press ahead with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s flagship project to divert asylum seekers abroad, announcing it would appeal a court ruling that migrants in reception centers in Albania should be taken to Italy.
A cabinet meeting will be held on Monday to decide on its response.
Migrants were transferred to Albania this week by an Italian navy ship. There were originally 16 of them, but four have already been brought to Italy for health reasons or because they are minors.
The court said that 12 migrants in the new Albanian facility Gjader must be returned to Italy because their countries of origin – Egypt and Bangladesh – cannot be considered safe.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told during a press conference that he was confident the decision would be overturned, adding that the government would appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Only migrants coming from a list of 22 countries classified as safe by Italy can be sent to Albania.
Egypt and Bangladesh are among them, but a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the matter made it impossible to keep them in Albania, it was said from the court in Rome, adding that they had “the right to be brought to Italy”.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Lebanon, Meloni called the decision “prejudicial” and said it was up to her government to determine which countries were safe and which were not, suggesting she would draw up new rules to address the issue.
Locals of the Albanian port of Shengjin, where the Italian Coast Guard ship arrived on Saturday morning, were surprised by the sudden departure of the migrants.
They left already? – asked the cafe owner.
I feel sorry for them. They sacrifice themselves for a better life. We did the same – he said.
