Politics Italy starts a new attempt: Refugees transferred to Albania

After a legal defeat, Italy is making another attempt to bring refugees to Albania. The decision on their asylum applications is now to be made there.

Italy has once again brought refugees to Albania after a first attempt failed legally. An Italian navy ship reached the port of the Albanian city of Shengjin with eight migrants on board who had previously been crossing the Mediterranean. These men from Egypt and Bangladesh had been stopped off the Italian island of Lampedusa on their way to Europe. Their asylum applications are now to be decided in Albania.

Controversial asylum policy of the Italian government

Italy is the first EU country to set up camps outside the Union to process asylum applications. This approach by the government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is highly controversial. An earlier attempt to accommodate refugees in Albania failed last month due to a court ruling in Rome. The judges ruled that Egypt and Bangladesh were not safe countries of origin, which meant that 16 men had to be returned to Italy. This was a significant defeat for Meloni.

New legal challenges

In response to the ruling, the Italian government has issued a new list of 19 safe countries of origin by decree. However, there are doubts as to whether this list will stand up in court. The Italian courts are relying on a ruling by the European Court of Justice and it is expected that the judiciary will also examine the current case.

SDA