Italy's Albania Migrant Plan Faces Legal Hurdles

Italy's government aims to implement a decree to establish migrant detention camps in Albania to curb sea arrivals from North Africa. This initiative faces legal challenges after a Rome court ruled the first migrants must return to Italy, questioning the project's compliance with EU laws.

Italy's government is poised to implement a decree on Monday to establish migrant detention camps in Albania, intended to deter sea arrivals from North Africa. However, the flagship plan is fraught with legal challenges.

A Rome court last Friday decreed that the initial group of migrants sent to Albania should be repatriated to Italy, citing their countries of origin, Egypt and Bangladesh, as not safe. This ruling jeopardizes the entire Italian initiative to move migrant reception centers to a non-EU state and has ignited a dispute between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration and the judicial system.

In response to the court's decision, Italy plans to bolster the legal standing of its list of safe countries, which includes Egypt, Bangladesh, and 20 other nations. The proposal, currently a ministerial decree, seeks elevation to an act of law. Constitutional law experts, however, doubt its efficacy in resolving conflicts with European legislation, which remains superior unless it is declared non-binding in this issue.

(With inputs from agencies.)