SHENGJIN, Albania (Reuters) – An Italian coastguard vessel collected migrants that were held in reception centres in Albania and transferred them to Italy on Saturday, 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.
The coastguard ship arrived shortly after 1300 GMT in the southern Italian port city of Bari, where the migrants disembarked and were taken to a reception centre.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told a news conference on Friday he was confident the court 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 migrants were collected by the Italian coast guard vessel early on Saturday, were surprised at their 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”.
(Reporting by Florion Goga, additional reporting by Gavin Jones, Editing by Toby Chopra)
