"They will work, they will work!" declared Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the end of last year, referring to the camps for illegal immigrants in Gjadra. But through a decision taken on August 1 in Luxembourg, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has questioned the legal foundations of this project agreed with the Albanian government of Edi Rama.
Preliminary decision, was announced by the Head of the Court, Koen LenaertsIt is expected to be revealed in the coming days.
In the joined cases “C‑758/24 Alace and C‑759/24 Canpelli” the ECJ refers to the designation of a country of origin as “safe”, a key concept in the accelerated asylum procedures used by Italy to expel migrants sent to Albania.
According to the European judges, each member state has the right to draw up a list of safe countries of origin, but this decision-making is not absolute. It must be based on clear, documented and accessible data, and be subject to judicial review.
“To justify the exclusion of an asylum application as inadmissible, the declaration of a country as safe must be based on information accessible and verifiable, both by the asylum seeker and by the court,” the ECJ press release states.
"The government compiles the list. The courts verify it," is emphasized in the summary of the decision read by the head of the court, Koen Lenaerts.
The case from Bangladesh and reactions to the ECJ
The case that led to this ECJ ruling concerned two Bangladeshi citizens, transferred to Gjadra after they had sought asylum in Italy, but whose request had been rejected through accelerated procedures.
The rejection was based on a 2024 decision by the Italian government to include Bangladesh on its list of safe countries. But the decision did not specify the sources used to assess the country's security level.
This, according to the ECJ, prevented asylum seekers and the courts from verifying the reliability of the Italian government's list, making the procedure legally unfair.
The ECJ ruling caused strong political reactions in Italy. Prime Minister Meloni, from a meeting in Turkey, accused the European court of exceeding its powers:
"Again the judiciary, this time the European one, claims spaces that do not belong to it, for issues that are exclusively political," it was said in the statement of the Italian Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the opposition reacted with accusations of failure of the "Meloni-Rama" project and mismanagement of funds.
Elly Schlein, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Italy, called the investment in Albania's camps "waste of 800 million euros" which, according to her, could have been used for healthcare.
Giuseppe Conte, of the 5 Star Movement (M5S), called the decision "predictable" and criticized Meloni for "empty propaganda" and "intentional victimization".
The ECJ's decision will be effective until June 12, 2026, when the new EU regulation as part of the Migration Pact is expected to enter into force.
Although the real impact is currently limited – around 150 migrants have been brought to Gjara in total since last year – this decision raises serious doubts about the long-term legality of the Italian-Albanian model for “fast-tracking asylum applications”.
Read also:
- Migrants continue to arrive in Gjadra, while the EU remains silent
- Gjadra, activists commemorate immigrant Hamid Badoui
- Human Rights Watch: "The Balkans are not a warehouse for migrants"
He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
