Meloni's last attempt to save the refugee agreement with Rama

Italy is trying to reclassify its migrant facilities in Albania simply as repatriation centers to avoid further legal hurdles, national media report.

At a meeting on Friday, officials reportedly discussed ways to keep the Italian-funded centers worth 653.5 million euros going, despite three consecutive negative court rulings that blocked the entire project, Euractiv writes .

Signed in November 2023, the Italy-Albania migration agreement mandates that those migrants raised in "safe third countries" rescued by Italy at sea be transferred to Albania. In Shëngjin they undergo checks, while in Gjadra they await asylum decisions.

To circumvent judicial oversight, the government plans to limit the centers to deportations only.

If reclassified, the Shëngjin and Gjader facilities – originally designed to process migrants caught at sea – would detain irregular migrants already in Italy, including those in hotspots and reception centers awaiting deportation.

“We will see,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in Rome on Monday, discussing the conversion of Albanian centers into return facilities. “We are moving forward, we will not abandon the work in Albania,” he added.

The future of "innovative solutions"

Despite being operational since October 11, 2024, the migrant centers, built by Italy in Albania as part of the Italy-Albania migration agreement, have not yet received a single migrant.

The latest setback came last week, when the Rome Court of Appeals refused to uphold the detention of 43 migrants in Albania, ordering their return to Italy on Saturday. Six had already been returned because they were minors or in poor health.

Despite previous legal obstacles, the government has shown no intention of changing course, with Prime Minister Meloni declaring that she is willing to "spend every night" in the centers until the end of her mandate, if necessary.

At the European level, Albania's migrant project features in talks on "innovative solutions" to migration, often linked to the loosely defined concept of so-called return centers. The European Commission is expected to unveil the new common approach to returns next month.

The commission declined to comment on the reclassification of Albanian centers on Monday, calling it a national issue.

However, the Commission said it is "aware" of discussions regarding the possible reclassification of the facilities.

The future of the Italy-Albania project lies with the European Court of Justice, to which the Italian courts have referred the case. The final decision is expected by February 25.

"We will assess whether to act before the verdict," European Affairs Minister Tommaso Foti said on Sunday.