Italy restarts bid to deport migrants to Albania 

An Italian Navy ship has delivered 49 people to an Albanian port as Rome resumed the controversial transfer of migrants to the Balkan nation.

Italian authorities said that the ship docked in the port of Shengjin on Tuesday morning, and disembarked the group. It is Rome’s third attempt to process asylum claims in Albania, after Italian judges ruled against a pair of shipments late last year and ordered those relocated to be returned.

The right-wing Italian government struck a contentious agreement on the transfers with Albania in November 2023 and has built two reception centres. It was the first deal struck by a European Union nation to divert migrants to a non-EU country for processing claims.

The 49 people are due to be checked in at a reception centre at the port. They will then be taken to the Gjader accommodation centre, about 22 kilometres (14 miles) to the east.

The previous attempts to transfer the processing of migrants to Albania follows failures in October and November. Italian judges refused to approve the detention of two small groups at the Albanian centres, ruling that the migrant’s countries of origin were not safe enough for them to face the possibility of being sent back by the centres.

The cases have been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which earlier established that asylum applicants could not undergo a fast-track procedure that could lead to repatriation if their home countries are not deemed completely safe.

The ECJ is set to review Italy’s plan in the coming weeks, to clarify whether it is in compliance with EU law.

The agreement between Rome and Tirana allows up to 3,000 people intercepted by the Italian coastguard in international waters each month to be sheltered in Albania and vetted for possible asylum in Italy or repatriation.

Italy has agreed to welcome those migrants who are granted asylum, while those whose applications are rejected face deportation directly from Albania.

The deal was struck as many EU states seek to adopt harsher immigration stances amid pressure from the far right.

Rights groups have questioned whether the deal complies with international law. Amnesty International has called the centres a “cruel experiment [that] is a stain on the Italian government”.

So far this year, 3,704 migrants have arrived in Italy, more than double the number in the same period last year, when 1,305 arrived. Last year, 66,317 migrants arrived in Italy, a drop of 58 percent from the previous year.