Italy has resumed operations with transfers to Albania of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean after a two-month suspension caused by legal challenges.
Sources confirmed on Saturday that the Italian Navy patrol vessel Cassiopea had taken 11 migrants, primarily from Egypt and Bangladesh, on board on Friday and Saturday. The ship is currently anchored in international waters about 20 miles from Lampedusa, awaiting more migrants before setting sail for the Albanian port of Shengjin.
This marks the third transfer under the controversial scheme launched by an agreement between Italy and Albania. The first two transfers, conducted in October and November, encountered legal obstacles when Italian judges declined to validate the detention of asylum seekers in Albania. The cases were referred to the European Court of Justice, which had previously ruled that asylum applicants could not undergo fast-track procedures for repatriation if their countries of origin were not considered entirely safe. In this context, Bangladesh and Egypt were deemed unsafe “over all of their territory.”
In response to the legal challenges, the Italian government in December introduced a measure identifying 19 countries as safe for repatriation, including Bangladesh and Egypt. The move aimed to circumvent the legal hurdles that had stalled the scheme.
The agreement between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has faced criticism from opposition parties in Italy, who argue the initiative is costly and ineffective. The programme’s projected expense of €800 million over five years addresses only a fraction of the migrant influx to Italy each year. However, the scheme has drawn interest from the European Commission and several EU leaders as a potential model for managing migration outside EU borders.
