The Court of Rome has issued a new ruling suspending the deportation of seven asylum seekers to reception centers in Albania. Under this ruling, authorities will return the seven asylum seekers from Egypt and Bangladesh to Italy, as they were transferred to Albania earlier this week.
Last October, the same court ruled that the detention of 12 asylum seekers in Albanian reception centers was unlawful and ordered their return to Italy. The court based its decision on a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, which stated that returning migrants to unsafe countries is illegal. The Rome court determined that Egypt and Bangladesh are unsafe countries, and as a result, refugees cannot be deported there.
Following the first ruling, the Italian government, led by Giorgia Meloni, released a new list of countries it deems safe, which includes Egypt. However, the court chose to refer this revised “safe country” decree, which added new countries, to the European Court of Justice.
The Court of Rome issued a statement clarifying that the criteria for designating a country as safe are set by European Union laws. As a member state of the EU, Italy is required to adhere to these laws when formulating its national legislation. In the event of a conflict between European law and domestic law, European law takes precedence.
According to the court, the decree issued by the Italian government after the initial ruling— which added countries like Egypt to the list of safe countries—violates European law and cannot be enforced. Under European law, a country can only be deemed safe if security is guaranteed across its entire territory.
The Italian government views the new ruling as an additional obstacle to its efforts to outsource the fight against illegal migration. This ruling also negatively impacts Italy’s reception centers in Albania, which have remained empty for over a month despite costing millions of dollars to establish. Over five years, the two reception centers in Albania have incurred a total expenditure of 653 million euros.
The new ruling has intensified the government’s criticism of the Italian judiciary. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini declared that the decision is “another politically motivated action aimed not at the government but at the Italian people and their safety.” Democratic Senator Filippo Sensi echoed this sentiment on social media, stating, “And now, add these seven individuals to the list. The incompetence, extravagance, and recklessness are truly unbelievable.”
