Italy plan to process migrants in Albania dealt blow by EU Court

The court says the way Italy defines a "safe" country breaks EU law.

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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the way the Italian government currently defines whether a country is "safe" to return someone whose application is rejected contravenes EU law.

That "safe country" concept is central to the deal that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck with Albania in 2023 to send migrants intercepted at sea straight there for accelerated processing.

Anyone from a "safe country" who was refused asylum was supposed to be deported within a week.

But the ECJ has ruled that a nation can only be included on the government's list if the entire population there is safe, which means Italy will have to revise its procedure.