Italy plans to deport rejected asylum seekers to its centres in Albania, after its initial plan to process asylum claims in the offshore camps suffered several setbacks in court.
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni passed a corresponding decree on Friday.
Meloni’s government opened two camps in Albania in October. The plan was to use the camps to process the asylum claims of migrants who were picked up in the Mediterranean by the Italian coastguard. If accepted, people would be allowed to travel on to Italy, while those who were rejected would be sent back to countries deemed safe.
However, the camps have remained empty due to a series of legal obstacles.
Italian courts have blocked the government’s plans three times, ruling that the migrants taken to Albania did not come from safe countries of origin – a prerequisite for being taken to the camps.
This means all of the 66 men taken to the camps in Shëngjin and Gjadër had to be brought to Italy after just a few days.
The European Court of Justice is currently examining whether the treatment of migrants is compatible with European law. A date for the ruling has not yet been set.
The costs for the construction and operation of the camps are estimated at more than €650 million ($700 million). In theory, there is space for 1,200 migrants in the centres.
Italy is one of the countries most affected by the arrival of refugees across the Mediterranean. In 2024, the Italian Interior Ministry registered around 66,500 arrivals, less than half as many as in 2023. People regularly lose their lives during the dangerous crossing.
Italy is the only country in the European Union to operate such camps outside the bloc. Other European governments are closely monitoring the scheme, some with a view to copying it.
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