Migrants, summit on centres in Albania. Tajani: 'We will go ahead'

The summit held at Palazzo Chigi on the migrant centres in Albania lasted about an hour. The meeting, convened by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was attended by Defence Minister Crosetto, Foreign Minister Tajani (by video link from Kosovo), Interior Minister Piantedosi, European Affairs Minister Foti, and Undersecretary of State Mantovano

On the migrant centres in Albania 'we have reiterated our commitment to follow the path that the European Union has also recognised, including at the last Council. We will go ahead to fight human traffickers, to respect EU standards. Innovative solutions have been appreciated and are also appreciated by other countries,' said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on the sidelines of his visit to Kosovo.

"Also in light of the recent ruling of the Court of Cassation that indicated the competences regarding the identification of safe countries of origin at the national level, the summit reaffirmed the firm intention to continue working, together with the EU partners and in line with the Conclusions of the European Council of 19 December last, on the so-called 'innovative solutions' to the migration phenomenon," reports Palazzo Chigi after the summit on the centres in Albania.

In January, the government therefore aims to resume the transfer of migrants to Albania. Buoyed also by the Cassazione ruling of 19 December that "gave us reason" and the right-wing wind blowing in Europe, pushing towards the defence of external borders. This is the orientation of Council President Giorgia Meloni. Minister Piantedosi, for his part, reported on arrivals by sea, this year in sharp decline: 65,000 compared to 153,000 in 2023. The point was made - also in light of the ermellini's latest ruling - on the conditions for reactivating the Albania project at the beginning of next year, after the false start. In fact, the judges have so far rejected the detentions of asylum seekers in Albanian centres. To overcome this obstacle, the government - with an amendment inserted in the flows decree - has transferred the competence of decisions on detentions from the magistrates of the immigration sections to the Courts of Appeal. With the hope of obtaining favourable decisions. The measure becomes operative 30 days after the law comes into force, i.e. next 11 January. From that moment, therefore, the ship Libra will be able to return to bring migrants to the port of Shengjin.

Meanwhile, on 19 December, there was a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cassation that the centre-right interpreted as supporting its position. The ruling - on a case that preceded the decree with which the government redefined the list of safe countries - recognises that politics has the right to establish a differentiated asylum application regime for those coming from countries designated as safe. Therefore, the judge 'cannot replace' the foreign minister, nor can he 'annul the ministerial decree with erga omnes effects'. However, the magistrate can assess whether the designation is legitimate and possibly disapply 'incidentally' the decree on safe countries. The Supreme Court of Cassation has yet to rule on the appeals filed by the government against the first non-validations of the detention of migrants issued by the immigration section of the Rome court on 18 October. In the hearing on 4 December, the judge asked the supreme judges to suspend the judgement pending the EU Court of Justice's ruling in March.