Legal battles halt Italy's new migrant deal with Albania - what happens next?

Giorgia Meloniʼs ground-breaking plan to move migrant processing to Albania hits major roadblocks. The deal (signed back in fall 2023) lets Italy send asylum-seekers to Albanian facilities - but things dont work as planned

The first try with 16 migrants from Egypt and Bangladesh failed when courts said these countries werent safe enough; the second attempt with 8 people met the same fate. Italian judges asked EU officials to check if the whole thing follows the rules: this created a real mess

A heated argument broke out between the government and courts. Matteo Piantedosi the Interior Minister said judges should follow new rules while Carlo Nordio called their decisions weird. Even Elon Musk jumped in supporting his friend Meloni on social media

• The plan can only work for non-vulnerable adults
• Migrants must come from safe countries
• Two centers in Albania can hold 1‚200 people each
• Cost is about 300 euros per-person daily

The project caught other EU countries attention. Ursula von der Leyen liked the idea and suggested similar hubs outside EU borders. Some political groups see it as a good way to control migration; others think its against human rights

Research shows the math doesnt add up - processing in Albania costs 9 times more than in Italy. Expert Matteo Villa says theres less than 2% chance that migrants will end up there anyway. The whole thing might just be a band-aid solution for Europes bigger immigration needs

Migration patterns changed since the mid-2010s refugee crisis. Now most people come from poor countries looking for better lives (except Ukrainians). While Europe needs workers - Italy alone needs 120k yearly until 2028 - governments focus on stopping irregular arrivals instead of making legal paths