(Adnkronos) – Premier Giorgia Meloni has welcomed the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou’s opinion that the tranfer of migrants to reception and expulsion centres built in Albania under a contested 2023 deal with Italy “is compatible with European Union law”.
“An important piece of news, which confirms the validity of the path we have indicated and how much two years lost have cost Italy due to forced and unfounded judicial interpretations,” Meloni wrote Thursday on X.
“Meanwhile, we move forward. Because tackling illegal immigration requires seriousness, courage, and concrete solutions,” the post added.
The ECJ should consider the November 2023 accord and related Italian legislation “compatible with EU law, provided that the individual rights and guarantees of migrants under the European asylum system are fully maintained”, the court said in a statement on Emiliou’s opinion.
EU law does not bar member states from setting up migrant detention and expulsion centres outside its territory, but the states are obliged to respect all the safeguards provided by the bloc, including the right to legal assistance, language assistance and contact with family members and relevant authorities, according to Emiliou’s opinion, the statement said.
“The Opinion states that the rule allowing asylum seekers to remain in a Member State while their applications are being processed does not entitle them to be brought back to that State’s territory,” the statement added.
The ECJ’s Advocate General’s role is to propose to the court “in complete independence” and Emiliou’s opinion is not binding on it, the statement noted.
Emiliou’s opinion came ahead of a judgement awaited from the ECJ on a case brought before it by Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation involving two migrants who were expelled from Italy and held in an Albania’s Gjader processing centre, where they applied for international protection.
A Rome appeals court refused to uphold the two migrants’ continued detention in Albania ordered by Rome’s police chief, prompting Italy’s interior ministry to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court of Cassation against the Rome court’s ruling. The apex court then referred the case to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling.
Centres in Gjader and Shengjin began operating in October 2024 under the Italy-Albania deal but stalled almost immediately after Italian courts ordered migrants to be returned to Italy under EU law. In August last year, the ECJ ruled against Italy, questioning the list of ‘safe countries’ being used by Rome to send migrants to Albania and fast-track their asylum claims in a fresh blow to its tough approach to illegal immigration: a flagship government policy.
Meloni is confident the Albanian camps will be operational from mid-2026, however, when new EU rules on immigration and asylum are due to enter into force.
Up to 3,000 adult male boat migrants per month intercepted by Italian boats in international waters could be processed at the Gjader and Shengjin centres under the Italy-Albania deal, which covers an initial five-year period.
Italy’s interior ministry declined to comment on a report last July by the ActionAid Italy charity and the University of Bari which found the migrant detention hub set up in Albania cost seven times as much as an equivalent domestic facility.
