ROME (AP) — Judges at the EU’s top court ruled Friday that Italy can fast-track deportations of migrants to countries designated as “safe,” but with limits.
The Court of Justice of the European Union was asked if an accelerated asylum procedure, allowing officials to quickly return migrants from countries not facing war or significant crises, was permissible.
Two Bangladeshi nationals, who were rescued at sea last year by the Italian navy, were taken to a detention center in Albania. Because Bangladesh is on a list of countries Italy considers safe, their claim for asylum was given a speedy assessment before being rejected.
The fast-track process, and detaining migrants at facilities in Albania, were introduced by the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni to curb the number of migrants entering the country.
Both policies have faced intense criticism. Italian courts have ruled against the policies and referred several cases to the EU’s court in Luxembourg for clarification.
Opposition politicians say the scheme is expensive, complicated and damaging to migrants’ rights. A non-governmental delegation observing the process in Albania says it illegally deprives migrants of assistance with asylum claims.
The Luxembourg-based court on Friday said that while having a fast-track procedure doesn’t violate EU law, the designation of safe countries must be subject to judicial scrutiny so migrants can challenge their asylum decisions.
Meloni’s office expressed surprise at the ruling, insisting Italy’s migration policy is the purview of the executive and legislative branches and shouldn’t be subject to judicial review.
The decision “weakens policies to counter mass illegal immigration and defend national borders,” Meloni’s office said in a statement, adding that it “further reduces the already narrow margins of autonomy of governments and parliaments” to control migration.
The ruling also noted a country cannot be deemed safe if there is insufficient protection for vulnerable groups. The country in question must be “safe for its entire population and not just for part of it,” the 22-page decision says.
An Italian court held last year that migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt couldn’t be immediately returned because those countries are not safe enough.
Judges at the Rome District Court, which referred the case to Luxembourg, will have the final say in determining whether the procedure was correctly applied for the two Bangladeshi nationals.
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Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.
