Third attempt

Italy brings migrants to Albania again

(Bild: APA/AP)

Despite two defeats in court, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is sticking to her plans for Albania. On Tuesday, migrants who had been rescued in international waters were brought to a reception center in the Balkan state for the third time.

The total of 49 people from Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Gambia were rescued at the weekend in international waters south of the Italian island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean. They all come from countries that Italy classifies as "safe". This means they have little chance of being granted asylum in Italy. Their applications are now to be processed in an accelerated procedure by the authorities. 

In Italy, there are already considerations for a different use of the camp in Albania. Former head of government Matteo Renzi recently proposed converting the facility into detention centers for Albanian convicts serving time in Italian prisons.

(Bild: AP/Vlasov Sulaj)

The government in Rome is thus resuming its Albania plan, despite the fact that the legal situation has not been fully clarified and a decision by the European Court of Justice is still pending. It wants the non-EU country to decide on asylum applications from certain migrants who, in Rome's view, come from safe countries of origin. 

Number of new arrivals increases again
The third attempt is justified by a renewed increase in refugee arrivals in recent days. Since the beginning of January, over 3,000 migrants have arrived in Italy, which is 136 percent more than in January last year, according to the Ministry of the Interior. In 2024, however, a 60 percent decrease in migrant arrivals was reported compared to the full year 2023. In that year, a total of 66,615 people reached Italy after crossing the Mediterranean.