(ANSA) – ROME, AUG 1 – Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office on Friday criticised the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling related to her government’s controversial agreement with Tirana for Italian-run migrant-processing centres in Albania.
The ECJ said it was legitimate for national governments to decide which countries of origin are safe via legislation, as Italy has done in a bid to overcome legal hurdles to implementing the agreement.
But the court also stressed that this must “be subject to effective judicial review” and that a Member State may not include a country in the list of safe countries of origin “if that country does not offer adequate protection to its entire population”.
In a statement, Meloni’s office said the decision was “surprising” and worrying.
“Once again the jurisdiction, this time European, claims spaces that do not belong to it, in the face of responsibilities that are political,” the statement continued.
“The EU Court of Justice has decided to hand over to any national court the decision not on individual cases, but on the part of migration policy relating to the regulation of returns and expulsions of irregular migrants.
“So, for example, it makes the decision of the national judge for the identification of so-called safe countries, based also on private sources, prevail over the outcomes of complex investigations conducted by the ministries concerned and evaluated by a sovereign parliament.
“It is a step that should worry everyone – including the political parties that are today celebrating the ruling – because it further reduces the already narrow margins of autonomy of governments and parliaments in the regulatory and administrative management of the migration phenomenon.
“The Court’s decision weakens policies to counter mass illegal immigration and defend national borders.
“It is singular that this comes a few months before the entry into force of the EU Pact on Immigration and Asylum, which contains stricter rules, including on the criteria for identifying those countries: a Pact that is the result of the joint work of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
“The Italian government will not stop seeking every possible solution, technical or regulatory, to protect the security of its citizens in the 10 months remaining until the European Pact starts functioning”.
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Last modified: August 1, 2025