ITALY SHIPS ASYLUM SEEKERS TO ALBANIA UNDER MIGRATION The European court will clarify if the migration deal complies with EU law.
An Italian navy ship carrying 49 migrants picked up in international waters arrived in Albania yesterday, amid a new attempt by Italy to push ahead with a legally contested plan to relocate migrants to the neighbouring country.
The navy ship Cassiopea with the migrants reached the Albanian port of Shengjin early on Tuesday. They will be identified at a facility there and then moved to a detention centre some 20 km (12 miles) away.
The navy did not provide details on the migrants.
The Italian government of Giorgia Meloni has built two reception centres in Albania, the first such deal by a European Union nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country in a bid to limit sea arrivals to its territory.
But the facilities have been empty since November after judges in Rome questioned the validity of the relocation plan and ordered the first two batches of migrants previously detained in Albania to be moved back to Italy.
The European court is set to review Italy’s plan in the coming weeks and clarify whether it complies with EU law.
