The Italian government is launching a new attempt in the complex landscape of migration management. Eight migrants aboard the Libra, an 80-meter patrol vessel of the Italian Navy, will arrive on Friday in the port of Shengjin, Albania. They will be subjected to an accelerated procedure in a third country, an approach that is an exception in Europe. However, as the operation proceeds, Italian judges continue to express doubts about the detention of asylum seekers.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi is considering new legal challenges to support this initiative. According to Piantedosi, the government is only anticipating European requests for 8,000 places for migrants. However, the opposition is harshly criticizing this operation, calling it mere political propaganda that entails considerable expenses: “A trip costs about 36,000 euros per migrant,” says Angelo Bonelli (Avs). Riccardo Magi of Più Europa also joins the criticism, highlighting the high costs and lack of compliance with European rights by Albanian detention centers. Piantedosi justifies the low number of migrants transferred to Albania with the severity of the screening carried out on board the ship. This process led to the exclusion of some candidates who did not meet the necessary requirements. In addition, some migrants presented identity documents to avoid detention, highlighting a deterrent against the system.
The possibility of detaining asylum seekers is limited to those who do not identify themselves. This approach has raised concerns as many asylum seekers attempt to escape the system. After arriving in Shengjin, migrants will follow a similar protocol to the one tested last October: health screening and identification at a hotspot before being transferred to Gjader. Recently, several Italian courts have released migrants because they believe their countries of origin are not safe. This was influenced by a ruling by the European Court of Justice that redefined the criteria for the safety of countries. The Ministry of the Interior has appealed these decisions and is preparing to face further legal developments in the coming months. The Court of Cassation will have to decide on this issue on December 4, when it will be called upon to evaluate whether to maintain discretion in the classification of safe countries or to strictly adhere to the ministerial list. With these dynamics in place, the issue of migrants in Italy continues to remain at the center of political and legal debate, highlighting future challenges in the management of European migration policies.
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