THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Italian government told judges at the European Union’s highest court on Tuesday that its transfers of migrants to asylum processing centers in Albania comply with EU and human rights laws.
The European Court of Justice has fast-tracked a pair of cases brought by two Bangladeshis who had their asylum applications rejected after a single remote hearing from an Albanian detention facility.
The two appealed the decision to a court in Rome, which asked the Luxembourg-based court to clarify EU law.
In 2023, Italy signed a deal with Albania to house up to 3,000 male migrants while their asylum claims are processed. Two purpose-built detention centers will cost Rome 670 million euros ($730 million) over five years and operate under Italian jurisdiction, with Albanian guards providing external security.
The two men were part of the first group of migrants to arrive in Albania in October but the facilities have remained mostly empty while the plan has been tied up in legal challenges. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government had vowed to reactivate the two centers.
Lawyers for the men, whose names are not made public for security reasons, argued that Albania does not qualify as a “safe third country” as required by EU law and the process violates their rights.
“It is not possible to designate a third country as being safe if certain categories of person cannot be considered safe in that country,” lawyer Dario Belluccio told the judges, pointing to a lack of safeguard for LGBTQ+ members in Albania.
Albania does not allow same-sex marriage and the United Nations has found LGBTQ+ members face discrimination and violence in the country.
“The condition of safety does not have to be satisfied equally for all individuals,” Lorenzo D’Ascia told the court on behalf of the Italian state.
Under the agreement, migrants retain their right under international and EU law to apply for asylum in Italy and the government says their rights will be safeguarded while on Albanian soil.
The court’s advocate general will give his non-binding legal advice on the case in April and a ruling is expected before the summer.
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Associated Press writer Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.
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