It's a new defeat for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: her right-wing government's second attempt to decide on asylum claims by Mediterranean refugees outside the EU has also failed. A court has overturned the detention of seven migrants from Egypt and Bangladesh in an Albanian refugee camp.
The men are expected to disembark on Tuesday at their original destination, Italy. Meanwhile, Italian judges appealed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The migrants were intercepted by the Italian navy near the island of Lampedusa last week as they fled from Africa to Europe. On Friday, a boat took them to Albania so Italian officials there could decide on their asylum claims. In five cases, the application has been rejected and should actually be returned. However, this practice has been stopped by the judicial department. Regardless, hundreds of refugees are still arriving in Italy every week after making the extremely dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.
Albanian warehouses empty
The Meloni government's “Albanian model” of setting up refugee camps for migrants from outside the EU has caused controversy in Italy and other countries. However, some European governments are considering following suit. In fact, Albania, a non-EU country, is supposed to handle up to 36,000 asylum applications every year. Meloni also promoted this at the latest EU summit in Budapest last week. For the leaders of the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party, the judgment of the Roman judges is a serious setback.
The two new warehouses only became operational last month. So far, it's mostly empty except for staff. The Meloni government's first attempt to implement a fast-track asylum procedure there failed in mid-October: a total of 16 men from Egypt and Bangladesh were eventually allowed to continue their journey to Italy. A court in Rome ruled that neither country was a safe country of origin.
European Court of Justice defines safe country of origin
Rome's right-wing government subsequently issued a decree outlining a new list of 19 supposedly safer countries of origin, including Egypt and Bangladesh. However, the European Court of Justice ruled in early October that a country can only be classified as a safe country of origin if there is no threat of persecution anywhere. Italian courts also rely on this.
This has now become a heated debate between the government and the judiciary. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini insulted judges as “communists” after their first defeat. Reacting to another defeat, the right-wing politician now says: “This is another political judgment – not against the government, but against Italians and their security.” The government now wants to take the case to Italy's Supreme Court. However, other courts have referred the matter to the European Court of Justice.
Audit Court review fees
Italy has been one of the countries particularly affected by refugee flows in the Mediterranean for many years. Despite a significant drop in numbers, more than 50,000 people have landed on Italian shores again this year in sometimes life-threatening circumstances. There is always death.
Meloni came into government two years ago promising to massively restrict irregular immigration. However, the opposition believes that the “Albanian model” is completely overpriced and that the separation of powers between the government and the judiciary is now at risk. In addition, left-wing and human rights groups criticized the high cost – according to them, it costs 20,000 euros per refugee. The Court of Auditors is now also checking whether the fees are appropriate. (Sudanese Development Authority/Department of Political Affairs/Lynn)
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