Italian Court Ruling Challenges Prime Minister Meloni’s Asylum Strategy
Italy’s highest administrative court delivered a ruling that questions the government’s approach to handling asylum applications, marking a significant setback for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The court deemed the detention of asylum seekers in Albania as illegal, labeling the decision a breach of European Union law, reports 24brussels.
The ruling originated from a legal challenge by two Bangladeshi nationals rescued at sea and subsequently detained in Albania. They contested the rejection of their asylum requests, arguing that Bangladesh is not a safe country as listed by the Italian government.
Meloni expressed her disappointment, calling the court’s decision “surprising” and indicative of a power grab by EU judges. She stated, “Once again, the judiciary, this time at the European level, claims spaces that do not belong to it, in the face of responsibilities that are political.”
This ruling has direct implications for Italy’s “Albania model,” a plan established by Meloni in 2023, which involved an agreement with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to receive and process the asylum applications of up to 30,000 migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean. The initiative included the construction of two processing centers in Albania.
However, the model has faced ongoing challenges within the Italian judiciary. Courts have previously rejected the validation of the first three groups of asylum seekers transferred to Albania in October and November 2024, as well as in February. Judges cited a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) which stipulated that a country’s designation as a safe origin must be uniform across its entire territory. In these instances, Bangladesh and Egypt were determined not to be universally safe for all populations or in all regions.
In response to these judicial hurdles, the Meloni administration sought to circumvent legal challenges by issuing a decree in December, designating 19 nations, including Bangladesh and Egypt, as “safe” for deportation.
With the court’s latest ruling, Meloni’s migration policy is now at a crossroads, sparking broader discussions about Italy’s obligation under EU law regarding the treatment of asylum seekers and the interpretation of safety in the context of repatriation.
