• Italy has dispatched an Italian navy ship carrying 49 migrants to Albania for asylum processing.
• This marks the third attempt after Italian courts earlier blocked previous transfers, citing safety concerns for migrants.
• The controversial agreement allows up to 3,000 migrants monthly to be sheltered in Albania for processing.
• The cases have been referred to the European Court of Justice, which is set to evaluate compliance with EU laws.
• Migrants arriving in Italy this year have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

Italy has taken steps to resume its migrant transfer program with Albania, as an Italian navy ship recently delivered 49 individuals to the port of Shengjin. This is the third attempt under a contentious agreement between Rome and Tirana, following two rejections by Italian courts which ruled that prior detainee safety concerns from their home countries were insufficiently addressed. Italian media outlets have identified the migrants as originating from Bangladesh, Egypt, Ivory Coast, and Gambia, though the Italian Interior Ministry did not confirm these nationalities. The immigrants transferred will be processed at centers established in Albania specifically for this initiative, which has seen substantial criticism from human rights advocates. The original agreement, made in November 2023, permits Italy to relocate up to 3,000 migrants intercepted by its Coast Guard in international waters every month to Albanian facilities for possible asylum vetting. However, in previous rulings, Italian judges denied the unqualified transfer of migrants, asserting that their potential repatriation would be illegal if their native countries are not deemed entirely safe. As a result, the ongoing legal review by the European Court of Justice, which is scheduled for February 25, aims to clarify the lawfulness of these practices within the broader context of EU regulations (Al Jazeera). Despite the legal victories for the migrants, Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government continues to assert the viability and necessity of this transfer agreement, particularly as Italy faces a significant influx of arrivals. So far this year, over 3,700 migrants have reached Italian shores—a marked increase from the same time last year, when only 1,305 arrived. The situation reflects a growing trend of stricter immigration policies across the EU, which have drawn extensive debate regarding their compliance with international human rights laws. Critics of the Albanian detention centers, such as Amnesty International, have called such arrangements a "cruel experiment," warning of their potential ramifications on the fundamental rights of migrants (AP News) and reiterating the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by migrants navigating perilous routes in search of safety (Le Monde).