SHENGJIN, Albania (Reuters) – An Italian coastguard vessel collected migrants held in reception centres 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 EU.
The Italian government vowed on Friday to push ahead with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s flagship project to divert asylum-seekers abroad, saying it would appeal against the legal decision that migrants in reception centres in Albania should be taken to Italy.
A cabinet meeting will be held on Monday to decide on the government’s response.
The migrants were taken to Albania earlier this week by an Italian navy ship. They originally numbered 16, but four have already been brought to Italy for health reasons or because they were minors.
The court said the 12 migrants in the new Albanian facility of Gjader had to return to Italy because their countries of origin — Egypt and Bangladesh — could not be considered safe.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told a news conference he was confident the decision would be overturned, adding that the government would take its appeal right up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
Only migrants coming from a list of 22 nations Italy has classified as safe can be sent to Albania.
Egypt and Bangladesh are among these, but a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the matter made it impossible to hold them in Albania, the Rome court said, adding that they had “a right to be brought to Italy”.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Lebanon, Meloni called the decision “prejudiced” and said it was up to her government to determine which countries are safe and which are not, suggesting she would draft new rules to address the issue.
Locals at the Albanian port of Shengjin, where the Italian coast guard vessel arrived on Saturday morning, were surprised at the migrants’ sudden departure.
“They left already?,” a coffee shop owner said. I’m sorry for them. They are doing this sacrifice for a better life. We have done the same”.
