Politics Refugee camp in Albania: Italy launches new attempt

After a first failure, Italy's right-wing government is launching a new attempt to accommodate Mediterranean migrants in refugee camps outside the EU.

An Italian naval vessel took eight people on board in international waters on Wednesday and headed for the Albanian port of Shengjin, according to the Ansa news agency. The men had previously attempted to enter Italy irregularly in boats.

Italy is the first country in the European Union to decide on asylum applications outside the EU's external borders, namely in Albania. Almost three weeks ago, the Italian authorities brought a first group of 16 migrants there so that they could undergo accelerated asylum procedures under Italian law. However, the Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suffered a heavy defeat in court.

The men from Egypt and Bangladesh, who had already been detained for two days in the camps in Albania, had to be allowed into Italy after all. The reason given was that both countries were not safe countries of origin, as stipulated by a ruling of the European Court of Justice. Meloni then issued a decree establishing an updated list of 19 supposedly safe countries of origin.

The refugee camps on Albanian soil have been empty for almost three weeks, apart from the Italian staff. They are part of a controversial agreement between Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama. It is unclear whether the Italian judiciary will put a spanner in the works of the government in Rome this time too. Courts in Bologna and Catania have already ruled against the new Meloni decree.

SDA