• EU court rules against Italy's scheme to deport asylum seekers to Albania.
• The ruling requires judicial scrutiny of countries designated as "safe."
• Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticizes the judgment as a blow to Italy's migration policies.
• The Albanian migrant camps remain empty due to ongoing legal challenges.
• Italy's government planned to process up to 36,000 asylum seekers annually through the scheme.

On August 1, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against Italy's use of Albania as a "safe country" for rapidly processing asylum claims. This legal decision undermines Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's migration policies, which aimed to expedite deportations of migrants, specifically from Bangladesh and other countries classified as "safe." Italy planned to send migrants to detention centers in Albania, but these centers have remained largely empty due to judicial hurdles that have effectively halted the scheme, costing considerably more than equivalent facilities in Italy, according to Reuters, Al Jazeera, LA Times, and Africanews.

The court stated that while Italy can determine which countries are considered safe, this assessment must adhere to rigorous legal standards, enabling migrants to challenge their designations. The ruling emerged from a case concerning two Bangladeshi migrants whose asylum requests were denied after being transferred to Albania, highlighting that the designation of "safe" cannot shield states from scrutiny, especially if adequate protections are not available for all groups within those countries. This judgment reflects broader concerns regarding the legality of Italy's expedited asylum process, as articulated by Dario Belluccio, a lawyer involved in the case, who stated the Albanian camps scheme has been "completely dismantled," according to Al Jazeera, LA Times, and Africanews.

Despite the legal setbacks, Meloni's administration emphasized that the ruling complicates Italy's abilities to control its migration policies, pointing out that judicial review should not intrude on executive and legislative authority. The ruling has been met with criticism from opposition parties, who argue that the costly and complicated scheme is detrimental to migrants' rights. The Italian branch of Doctors Without Borders welcomed the decision as establishing essential legal standards for EU member states' obligations when classifying countries as safe, according to Reuters and LA Times.