Italy resumes migrant transfers to Albania as navy vessel heads to centers with 49 people

ROME (AP) — Italian navy vessel Cassiopea has embarked 49 migrants during its patrols in the Mediterranean and is transferring them to new processing centers in Albania, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

This is the third attempt to process adult male migrants in Albania after the first two transfers under a controversial scheme launched in October were blocked due to legal hurdles.

The Interior Ministry said Sunday that 53 other migrants “spontaneously presented their passports” after they were told that this would avoid their transfer to Albania. Where the nationality is confirmed, processing generally takes less time as people who are determined by Italy to be ineligible to apply for asylum in the European Union are repatriated via a fast-track procedure.

Italian judges refused to validate the detention of the first two small groups after they were taken to the Albanian reception and detention centers, built under a contentious agreement between Rome and Tirana.

Their cases have been referred to the European Court of Justice, which had earlier established that asylum applicants could not undergo a fast-track procedure that could lead to repatriation if their country of provenance was not deemed completely safe.

The European court hearing on the case is scheduled for Feb. 25.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government had vowed to reactivate the two centers in Albania that have remained dormant following the Italian courts’ decisions.

The premier’s position was partially backed by a ruling in late December by Italy’s highest court, which said Italian judges could not substitute for government policy in deciding which countries are safe for repatriation of migrants whose asylum requests are rejected.

The decision does allow lower courts to make such determinations on a case-by-case basis, short of setting overall policy.

Italy has earmarked 650 million euros ($675 million) to run the centers over five years. They opened in October ready to accept up to 3,000 male migrants a month picked up by the Italian coast guard in international waters.

Human rights groups and non-governmental organizations active in the Mediterranean have slammed the agreement as a dangerous precedent that conflicts with international laws.

Meloni has repeatedly stressed that plans to process migrants outside EU borders in Albania had received strong backing from other European leaders.

Giada Zampano, The Associated Press