The decision comes as a court in Rome cast doubt on the legality and feasibility of the agreement between Albania and Italy to limit migrant arrivals.
The Italian cabinet adopted a decree authorizing the government to modify the list of safe countries from which migrants arrive, thus removing legal obstacles to the implementation of theagreement controversial multi-million euro migration deal concluded with Albania.
On Saturday, the government was forced to send back 12 migrants who had been taken to Italy’s new migrant processing centers in Albania, after a court in Rome ruled against the project.
According to the court, the migrants’ countries of origin (Bangladesh and Egypt) are “unsafe”. The court therefore declared that discrimination and legal proceedings in only one part of a country could make it illegal to send these men to Albania.
The judges ruled that the men risked violence if returned to their home countries and therefore could not be deported, in a blow to the program which other European countries have protested theirinterest.
Following this court decision, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni convened her cabinet on Monday to find a legislative solution.
Ms Meloni, who heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, argued that it is up to the government, not the judiciary, to decide which countries are safe.
Italy’s Foreign Ministry, Interior Ministry and Justice Ministry drafted the new legislation over the weekend, proposing that the list of safe countries be updated every six months.
Increased powers of government
The Court’s decision confirmed a ruling of the European Court of Justice of October 4. Meloni’s far-right “Brothers of Italy” party argues that government decisions should take precedence over those of the judiciary.
“The definition of a safe country cannot be left to the judiciary; this is a political decision, even if it falls within the framework of international law “, declared the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio.
As part of a long-running feud between the government and justice professionals in Italy, Ms Meloni said the court’s decision to send back the migrants was “biased”, with her party colleagues saying the courts were full of “politicized magistrates” who “would like to abolish Italy’s borders. We will not allow it.”
The agreement between Tirana and Rome provides for the creation of offshore migrant processing centers in Shengjin, a port city close to the Albanian capital.
Up to 3,000 migrants collected each month by the Italian coast guard in international waters will be accommodated in Albania under a five-year agreement signed last November by Giorgia Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama.
The deal has attracted interest from several countries, including Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, although Albania insists it is aItalian exclusivity.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenoffered its potential support for the project, proposing that EU member states quickly develop “innovative solutions” to fight against immigration in a letter released to the media last week – a euphemism often associated with the agreement.
Not everyone reacted so positively. After Friday’s ruling by the Rome court, the Italian opposition (the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement and the League of Greens and Left) said the court’s ruling showed the program was against the law and that it should be repealed.