Italian justice ruled this Monday, November 11, that it was preferable to turn to the Court of Justice of the European Union to ensure that the Prime Minister's migration policy complied with European texts. Seven migrants transferred to Albania must therefore return to Italy.
Yet another snub for Giorgia Meloni. This Monday, November 11, a court in Rome inflicted a new setback on the Italian Prime Minister's migration policy by asking European justice to rule on the retention of migrants transferred to Albania, who, in the meantime, will return to Italy. The magistrates decided to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to ensure that Italian legislation complies with European texts. For reasons of legal deadline, the seven migrants concerned – of Egyptian and Bangladeshi nationality – “will return to Italy in the coming hours”explains an Italian government source.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, an ally of Meloni and leader of the anti-migrant Lega party, immediately reacted to this decision by denouncing “a new political judgment […] against the Italians and their security”. “The government and parliament have the right to react to protect citizens and they will”. “Justice once again dismantles the propaganda of the Italian government”welcomed the NGO sea rescue of migrants Sea-Watch. “How much longer will the Italian government continue this inhumane farce?»
Empty centers
While Rome has already spent tens of millions of euros to build these detention centers in Albania having finally opened in October months late, this new setback is embarrassing for Giorgia Meloni. The leader of the post-fascist party Fratelli d'Italia presented this project as a “example” for other European countries. These centers, initially planned to accommodate hundreds of migrants, are currently condemned to running empty.
In a previous case dating back three weeks, judges in the migration affairs section of the Rome court overturned the detention of the first 12 migrants taken to Albania, citing a recent CJEU ruling on the countries of origin considered “safe” by the host countries. The court ruled that under the terms of this judgment, the 12 migrants did not meet the criteria for detention in Albania and that they should be returned to Italy. While European law takes precedence over national law, Italian judges invoked this decision stipulating that member states cannot designate as “safe” only entire countries, and not certain regions of these countries.
Attempt to avoid an obstacle
To get around the obstacle, the government of Giorgia Meloni adopted a decree 48 hours later, including in the law 19 countries considered to be “safe” by the government. Rome thus hoped to process asylum requests from migrants from these countries using an accelerated procedure from Albania, with possible expulsion at stake. Faced with this decree, judges of the Bologna court already addressed the CJEU two weeks ago asking it to clarify the situation in the face of “obvious differences” and to “conflicts of interpretation” in the Italian legal system.
They also felt that it was not possible to declare entire countries safe when there was evidence of the persecution of minorities. “It could be said, paradoxically, that Nazi Germany was an extremely safe country for the vast majority of the German population: with the exception of Jews, homosexuals, political opponents, people of Roma origin and others minority groups”they pleaded.
Signed at the end of 2023 by Meloni and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, the agreement between Rome and Tirana has a duration of five years and concerns adult men intercepted by the Italian navy or coast guard in their search and rescue zone in international waters. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, 58,504 migrants arrived in Italy between January 1 and November 11, 2024, compared to 146,868 over the same period in 2023.
