Italy rushes to pass law to save Albanian asylum centre scheme


Italy rushes to pass law to save Albanian asylum centre scheme

By Gregory Holyoke Published on 21/10/2024 - 21:21 GMT+2•Updated 23:49 The move comes as a court in Rome cast doubt on the legality and feasibility of the deal, which was agreed between Albania and Italy to limit migrant arrivals. Italy's cabinet passed a decree which would allow the government to amend the list of safe countries from which migrants arrive, removing legal obstacles in implementing the government's controversial, multi-million-euro migration deal with Albania. The government was forced on Saturday to return 12 migrants who had previously been taken to Italy's new migrant-processing centres in Albania, after a court in Rome cast doubt on the scheme. According to the court, the migrants' countries of origin — Bangladesh and Egypt — are "unsafe". The court said that discrimination and prosecution in even one part of a country could make sending the men to Albania illegal. In a blow to the deal, which other European countries have expressed interest in, judges found that the men were at risk of violence if repatriated to their countries of origin, so could not be deported. Following the court ruling, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened her cabinet on Monday to find a legislative solution. Meloni and her party argued that the government, not the judiciary, should decide which countries are safe. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice drafted the new legislation over the weekend, proposing that the list of safe countries could be updated every six months, according to local media. Increased government powers The court's decision upheld a ruling by the European Court of Justice on 4 October. Meloni's far-right Brother's of Italy party argue that the government's decisions should take precedent over the judiciary's. "The definition of a safe country cannot be left to the judiciary; this is a political decision, albeit within the framework of international law," said Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio.