An Italian court has ruled that seven migrants held at an offshore asylum processing center in Albania must be brought to Italy, in a new setback for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s new migration programme.
The men, originally from Egypt and Bangladesh, were picked up by an Italian navy ship in the Mediterranean Sea last week and taken to the center in Albania to have their asylum applications processed.
Five of their applications have already been rejected, but Italian judges have also postponed their deportations.
Albania’s two asylum processing centers have only been in use since last month, but have been empty for much of that time.
The first group of men brought to the centers in October, also of Egyptian and Bangladeshi descent, were eventually allowed to travel to Italy after a court ruled that neither Egypt nor Bangladesh are considered safe – a condition for processing in the offshore camps. .
Meloni’s right-wing government has since issued a decree establishing a new list of 19 supposedly safe countries of origin, including Egypt and Bangladesh, but the Italian court has asked the European Court of Justice to review the decree.
Under EU law, neither Bangladesh nor Egypt are classified as safe countries of origin.
Italy is the first EU country to process asylum applications in camps outside the European Union. The plan is being closely watched by other European governments, several of which are considering taking a similar approach.
The men will be taken to Italy on Tuesday.
