Italy's Giorgia Meloni government's Council of Ministers on Monday night passed a decree formally declaring 19 countries “safe” for the return of illegal immigrants, as a full-scale constitutional battle erupts over the regime's Albania plan. approved.
Last week, a court in Rome ordered the deportation of 12 illegal immigrants from Albania to Italy. The Italian government was sending migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt to camps established in Albania following an agreement between Prime Minister Meloni and Tirana to detain Italian illegal immigrants abroad.
The judges said that Bangladesh and Egypt should be considered safe based on a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that states that Bangladesh and Egypt can only be considered safe if their entire territory can be determined to be at risk. The decision was made because the country believes it does not qualify as a “safe country.” Freedom from torture, political persecution, possible indiscriminate violence, and even the death penalty.
On Monday, Meloni convened a council of ministers to rescue Albania's plans from judicial intervention. Before the court's ruling, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had listed 22 countries as “safe” for deportation.
However, this list was unofficial and not backed by law, so the issuance of a Decree Law declaring 19 countries safe, by removing Cameroon, Colombia and Nigeria from the original list, allowed Mr. I hope to crush it. -Judiciary authorities stop the plan from proceeding.
According to Italian broadcaster RAI, the Italian Prime Minister said“We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our borders and re-establish the basic principle of only legally entering Italy according to established rules and procedures.”
“It is a top priority to fight those who exploit people's legitimate desire to find more favorable living conditions in order to increase their profits. Governments must dismantle these criminal networks and ensure that the third millennium “We are determined to eradicate illegal human trafficking that fuels the interests of slave laborers in the United States,” she added.
The decree issued by the Council of Ministers is likely to put the government in conflict with the Court of Rome, in which the fate of the Albania plan, and possibly Meloni's ability to reduce illegal immigration, will ultimately have to be decided. Probably. resolved by the Constitutional Court.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio insisted on Monday: “The judiciary cannot decide what is a safe country. The judiciary cannot decide what is a safe country.” It is a political evaluation even within the scope of international law. ”
The legal battle in Italy could have far-reaching implications across the European Union, with countries like Denmark looking to copy Albania's scheme and even EU Prime Minister Ursula von der Leyen saying the EU has expressed support for broader adoption of the Meloni method.
Commenting on the dispute, Anitta Hipper of the European Home Affairs Committee said “All these measures taken by the Italian authorities must be fully complied with and in no way undermine the application of EU law and treaties,” it said in a statement on Monday.
However, while Mr Hipper acknowledged that the Rome court cited the European Court of Justice in last week's safe country judgment, there is currently no EU-wide list of illegal migrants deemed eligible for deportation. pointed out.
“That is also what is planned and what we have to work on. Member states have a list of their countries,” she said.
