Giorgia Meloni’s conservative government amended the Italy-Albania Protocol at the end of last week, aiming to restart the slightly revised migrant detention facilities as soon as possible. Instead of “reception” centers, the two facilities in Albania will work solely as offshore deportation centers, or “CPRs.”
The change was needed after left-wing activist judges blocked the implementation of the original plan three times in the past six months by arguing that the Albania protocol violates EU law—despite the EU Commission itself backing the Italian government in the ongoing case at the EU Court of Justice (ECJ).
During a press conference on Friday, March 28th, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the centers will be swiftly reactivated but “will not lose their functions or be fundamentally altered.” Essentially, they will function as all the other CPRs on the mainland, “just outside national territory.”
As we reported on the leaked plans to revamp the protocol a few weeks ago, the Albanian facilities will be transformed into repatriation centers that will only house those who have already been issued deportation orders. The process of getting the country of origin on board or finding a suitable third country to deport them can take months.
Meanwhile, the original purpose of the migrant centers—preventing migrants from disappearing in Italy and the Schengen area by detaining them outside the EU as they await the decision on their asylum request—will still be realized in an alternative, more creative way.
The government is reportedly preparing to issue electronic bracelets for every illegal migrant arriving in Italy that would allow the police to monitor their whereabouts and locate them easily in case their asylum request is rejected.
Critics from the Left still argue that transferring migrants to ‘offshore’ centers can be challenged under international law and that Italy’s fast-tracked deportation procedure makes no sense as EU law forbids the deportation of migrants to third countries other than their countries of origin unless they have a personal connection to the country and are willing to go voluntarily.
However, EU legislation is set to be reformed soon, giving Rome the confidence to restart the program without worrying about Brussels. The EU Commission’s recently unveiled Return Directive—also referred to as the ‘deportation pact’—will explicitly allow member states to build and use offshore repatriation centers or “return hubs” in third countries; while the fast-tracked review of the EU’s “safe third country” (STC) concept will significantly reduce the criteria for deporting illegal migrants to any country that would accept them.
During the press conference, the interior minister also revealed that Rome concluded a separate bilateral consultation with Brussels, and was given the green light from the Commission to restart the program. “The review with the European Commission has concluded positively, allowing us to proceed,” Piantedosi said.
Ruling in the ECJ case about Italy’s own list of ‘safe third countries’ is expected to drop in a few weeks, but since it’s backed by the EU Commission, Rome is confident it will receive a favorable decision—and put this conflict for primacy between the democratically elected political leaders and the openly biased judiciary finally at rest.
The successful implementation of the Protocol will be a huge milestone not only for Italy, but all EU member states, who collectively demanded from the Commission the possibility to emulate the Italian example last year, possibly even at the EU level in the future.
“The agreement, after all, is a model that is setting a precedent in Europe with the member states who are adopting the Italian position, starting with EU President Ursula von der Leyen and her clear stance on the eve of the last European Council,” Italian Undersecretary Augusta Montaruli explained earlier. “We, as a government, will not give up against illegal immigration and will continue on the path we have set out… The madness is over.”
