The Italian government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is working on a decree to amend the list of safe countries to overcome legal obstacles to the implementation of its Italy-Albania migration model after a Rome court ordered the first 12 migrants processed under the new model to be returned to Italy.
Following the court’s decision to block the processing of the 12 migrants, Meloni called a cabinet meeting for 6 pm on Monday to find a legislative solution, saying it was up to the government, not the judiciary, to “determine which countries are safe”.
The foreign, interior, and justice ministries are said to be drafting the decree over the weekend, with a proposal that the list of safe countries could be updated every six months, Corriere della Sera reported.
“The definition of a safe country cannot be left to the judiciary; it is a political decision, albeit within the framework of international law,” Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told La Repubblica in an interview on Sunday.
For Meloni, the court’s decision is “prejudiced”, commenting that “it’s very difficult to work and try to provide answers to this nation when part of the institutions, which should be helping, are obstructing us.”
In a more direct statement, a press release from Meloni’s party, Fratelli d’Italia, accused a faction of the judiciary of being “politicised” and trying to “oppose this government”.
The Italy-Albania migration deal has attracted attention from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the European Commission, who said in a letter to the European Council that the EU “will also be able to draw practical lessons from this experience”.
On Friday, the Rome court ruled against the detention of migrants in the Italian repatriation centre in Gjader, Albania, set up under the bilateral migration agreement. This decision is in line with a ruling by the EU Court of Justice on 4 October, which criticised the concept of ‘safe countries’.
According to the EU court, member states cannot deport migrants – even those whose asylum applications have been rejected – to third countries where they risk the death penalty, torture, or inhumane treatment.
Meanwhile, opposition parties continue to push back against the deal.
Following Friday’s ruling by the Rome court, the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement and the League of the Greens and the Left have sent a question to the European Commission asking whether Brussels intends to open infringement proceedings against Italy over the migration deal with Albania.
Meanwhile, the news of the migrants being returned to Italy sparked ridicule in Albania with many fake real estate adverts popping up on social media, advertising ‘rooms’ to rent at a reduced rate in the centres.
(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)
Source: euractiv.com
