An Italian navy ship docked at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday with eight migrants who will be processed there after they were intercepted in international waters, a month after another group was rejected because it failed to pass screening, Italian media reported.
The same ship brought the first 16 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to Albania. Four were taken to Italy the same day because they were minors or had health problems. Twelve others were returned to Italy three days later following a decision by Roman judges who refused to detain them because their countries of origin – Bangladesh and Egypt – were not safe enough to send them back.
The naval vessel Libra, with 200 people in addition to its crew, left Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa on Wednesday with eight men on board. Italian interior ministry spokesman Francesco Camel confirmed the Libra was heading for Albania but declined to provide any further information until the operation was finalised. He did not say when the vessel would arrive at the site or how many people were on board.
Italian media reported that of the 1,200 migrants who arrived on Lampedusa over the past two days, only eight adult men travelling without families met Albania’s screening criteria, including that they came from countries deemed “safe” for repatriation.
The number of people arriving in Italy via the central Mediterranean migration route – mainly from Bangladesh, Syria, Tunisia and Egypt – has fallen by 60 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023. As of November 7, 57,767 migrants arrived by sea in 2024, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.
Deal for migrants or against them
The court ruling in Rome reduced the list of countries deemed “safe” under the law, meaning Rome can repatriate migrants from those countries who have not been granted asylum under a fast-track procedure. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the Rome court’s decision and said that recognising countries such as Bangladesh and Egypt as unsafe meant that virtually all migrants would be excluded from Albania’s programme, rendering it unworkable.
On October 21, the Italian government approved a new decree aimed at overcoming these judicial obstacles that risk derailing a controversial five-year migration deal with Albania signed in 2023 by Meloni and her Albanian counterpart Edi Rama.
Under the deal, up to 3,000 migrants intercepted each month by the Italian coastguard in international waters will be sheltered in Albania and screened to see if they can seek asylum in Italy or be sent back to their home countries.
Italy has agreed to accept those migrants who will be granted asylum, while those whose applications are rejected will face deportation directly from Albania.
The agreement between Italy and Albania is the first of its kind between an EU member state and a non-EU country, similar to the UK’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, which was ruled illegal and suspended by a court.
Meloni had earlier called on the EU to help with a naval blockade to stop migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
