Milan — On Wednesday, an Italian naval vessel tasked with transporting migrants was making its way to Albania for the processing of asylum claims, in accordance with a five-year agreement aimed at managing asylum requests outside the borders of the European Union. However, this initiative has already encountered legal challenges.
A representative from the Italian interior ministry confirmed that the naval ship Libra was heading to the Balkan nation but did not disclose the number of migrants on board or the ship’s expected arrival time.
According to reports from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, of the recent 1,200 migrants who arrived in Italy’s southern island of Lampedusa over a two-day period, only eight adult males traveling alone met the criteria for processing in Albania. These criteria specify that migrants must originate from countries classified as “safe” for repatriation.
The ship, which has the capacity to accommodate 200 individuals in addition to its crew, is slated to dock at the Albanian port of Shengjin on Friday morning.
This marks only the second transfer of migrants since the establishment of two processing centers last month. The initial group of migrants was returned to Italy after a court in Rome determined that their countries of origin, specifically Bangladesh and Egypt, were not considered safe for relocation.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had envisioned that these two centers could facilitate the processing of up to 3,000 migrants each month, intending to assist Italy in managing the influx of migrants arriving on its southern coast. Nonetheless, this agreement has drawn criticism from human rights advocates, who argue that it sets a troubling precedent for asylum processing.
Meloni, who leads Italy’s first far-right government since World War II, condemned the ruling issued by the Rome court. She expressed concern that labeling countries like Bangladesh and Egypt as unsafe could ultimately prevent nearly all migrants from participating in the Albania program, rendering it impractical.