An Italian naval ship with eight migrants docked in Albania on Friday as Rome tried to salvage a controversial deal to outsource processing to its non-EU neighbour.
The Libra arrived at the port of Shengjin with six Egyptians and two Bangladeshis, the interior ministry told AFP.
It comes nearly a month after Italy's abortive bid to send migrants to Albania for faster processing under a policy closely scrutinised by Europe.聽
The hard-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has passed a new law to overcome legal opposition to the scheme, which has met with fresh judicial challenges.
The 2023 deal calls for asylum seekers intercepted by state vessels within Italy's search and rescue area to be taken to Albania. It excludes those considered vulnerable by law, including women and minors.
To be eligible for the two Italian-run centres in Albania, migrants must hail from so-called 鈥榮afe countries鈥�.
The centres in Albania are to be operated under Italian law, with Italian security and staff, and judges hearing cases by video from Rome.
Meloni said Friday that EU countries have expressed 鈥榚xtraordinary interest鈥� in the plan, but the government now needs an Italian court to sign off on the detention of the eight migrants in Albania.
The first attempt last month to detain 12 migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt in Albania was swiftly rejected by judges in Rome over Italy's definition of certain countries as 鈥榮afe鈥�.
The judges pointed to a recent European Court of Justice ruling that stipulated that EU states can only designate entire countries as safe, not parts of countries. 聽
In response,聽Rome passed a law stating that all parts of the 19 countries on its "safe" list were safe.
But that has been opposed with judges 聽across the country refusing to sign off on detention orders and asking the European Court of Justice to clarify the law.
On Friday, Meloni warned 鈥榯he risk is a situation where safe countries do not exist... which would make it impossible to manage immigration and stop mass illegal immigration鈥�.
