A multimillion-dollar migration deal between Italy and Albania aimed at curbing arrivals was presented by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, as a new model for how to establish processing and detention centres for asylum seekers outside the EU.
The facilities in Albania were supposed to receive up to 3,000 men intercepted in international waters while crossing from Africa to Europe. But it seems neither von der Leyen nor Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, had taken existing law into account.
Just a month after the much-publicised opening, only 24 asylum seekers have been sent to Albania, and none remain there now; five spent less than 12 hours in a detention centre, while the rest stayed for just over 48 hours.
All were transferred to Italy after Italian judges deemed it unlawful to detain them in Albania prior to repatriation to countries, such as Bangladesh and Egypt, considered “safe” by Rome. In doing so the judges were upholding a 4 October ruling by the European Union’s court of justice (ECJ) that a country outside the bloc could not be declared safe unless its entire territory was deemed safe.
Italy’s embarrassment over the scheme, attacked by opposition parties as a “complete failure” that will cost about €1bn (£830m) over five years, has sparked a row between the authorities and the judges, who have been accused by far-right parties of obstructing the project.
Yet observers say Meloni and her allies knew from the start there was a risk the deal would not work, with the ECJ ruling being just one of many legal issues. Chiara Favilli, a professor of European Union law at the University of Florence, said: “Since 1993, several European states have been proposing solutions similar to Italy’s deal with Albania. However, they have always been rejected. Deals like the one between Albania and Italy are irreconcilable with some fundamental norms.”
Months before the agreement between Albania and Italy was signed, numerous NGOs, academics and experts had raised doubts about whether it could be considered humane or even legal under international law.
Their calls were ignored. Supporters insisted that if anything the scheme was more humane than consigning people to developing countries, as the flagship deportation scheme of the last UK government would have done, with the Italian state responsible for the men’s fate and upholding certain norms, and less problematic than the current EU practice of giving money to north African countries in order to enhance their border controls.
As it looks likely to face further legal challenges, however, the deal is becoming a fiasco. According to a recent poll, 55% of Italians dislike it.
Credibility is at stake for a government that has made immigration a central campaigning issue and that in the past has criticised predecessors for spending public money on managing the migration crisis. (The transport by sea on an Italian military ship of the eight men who arrived in Albania last weekend cost €250,000 – more than €31,000 per asylum seeker onboard.)
In the face of the deal’s gradual demise, the Italian government has lashed out in time-honoured fashion against the judiciary, describing those who ruled against the deal as “politicised magistrates” who “would like to abolish Italy’s borders”.
Even Elon Musk has weighed in, throwing his support behind his friend Meloni and denouncing the magistrates’ decision by declaring: “These judges must go.” In a highly unusual move, Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, gave Musk an acid response: “Italy knows how to take care of itself.”
Last week, police strengthened protections for Silvia Albano, one of the six judges of the immigration section of the Rome court who on 18 October did not validate the detention of asylum seekers in Albania. She has received death threats since the ruling.
Stefano Musolino, deputy prosecutor of Reggio Calabria and a member of the national magistrates association, said: “What is not understood is that if a judge were to authorise the repatriation or detention of migrants in Albania, contrary to the international laws that bind Italy, their verdicts would be illicit.”
At a time when the government is struggling to balance the budget – cutting funds for education, health and social security – opposition parties have described the deal as a “financial disaster”.
Elly Schlein, the leader of Italy’s Democratic party, said: “Meloni raises taxes and squanders nearly a billion euros of taxpayers’ money on migrant centres in Albania. We could have used those to strengthen the national health service where more than 4.5 million people are unable to receive treatment every year. Now it’s time for Meloni to dismantle the centres. Then, it’s time for her to apologise to all Italians.”
