Meloni Forces a New Clash with Justice by Sending Eight More Migrants to Albania

The Italian Navy ship 'Libra' was sailing yesterday towards Albania, where it was planned to disembark eight migrants rescued on Monday south of the island of Lampedusa, located in the center of the Mediterranean, as they tried to reach Italy. All of them were to enter the two deportation camps that the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, ordered to be built in the Balkan country: one is in the port of Shengjin and the other, larger, in the town of Gjader, inland.

The first attempt by the Rome Government to use these centers with twelve migrants was already thwarted by judges twenty days ago, considering that their operation clashed with European legislation. Since then, other magistrates have expressed the same opinion, so it is likely that a new confrontation will occur between the executive and judicial powers over this controversial project, which, according to Meloni, could have a deterrent effect to curb irregular immigration to Italy.

Although it has a capacity to transport 200 people and a crew of 70 military personnel, the 'Libra' only carries 8 migrants on board on this second trip to Albania. They are part of the more than 1,200 displaced people who arrived in recent days in Lampedusa, but only they met the necessary characteristics to be interned in the deportation centers of the Balkan country.

These camps operate with an accelerated expulsion system, so they can only accommodate adult males who are not in a vulnerable situation and come from nations considered safe. All other migrants must be disembarked on Italian territory. These conditions confirm the limitations of the so-called 'Albania model' to prevent migrants from reaching Italy, thus joining the legal and humanitarian problems in which the Executive's project has been involved.

After the judicial setback 20 days ago, Meloni tried to salvage this controversial initiative with the accelerated approval of a decree that turns into law the list of countries considered safe to which migrants can be repatriated. The operation of the Albanian deportation centers follows this classification, which had already been questioned by the European Union Court of Justice.

Italian magistrates relied on the decision of this Court to block the Government's first attempt to use the Albanian camps. That script is likely to be repeated this time, as since then other Italian judges have also ignored the list of safe countries, which led the Deputy Prime Minister and League leader, Matteo Salvini, to call them "communists."

The European Union Court of Justice is expected to confirm in the coming weeks whether the Rome Government's decree on the nations to which foreigners can be expelled conflicts with community legislation.