According to Italian newspaper reports, migration pressure is expected to intensify in the coming weeks. In the first month of the year, the number of illegal migrants arriving in the country has doubled, and the trend is likely to continue in February. According to a Libyan source speaking to Il Giornale, hundreds of thousands are waiting on North Africa’s shores to set off for Europe.
The government led by Giorgia Meloni had hoped that the Albanian camps would serve as a deterrent to departing masses. Housing illegal migrants in closed camps outside Europe would have significantly accelerated the deportations. However, the right-wing government’s plans have once again been thwarted by leftist judges. According to the latest reports, the Supreme Court in Rome has ruled that migrants transported to Albania earlier this week must be returned to Italy.
The military vessel Cassiopea transported 49 illegal migrants to Albania on Tuesday, mostly men of Bangladeshi and Egyptian origin. The Supreme Court justified its decision by stating that until the European Court rules on the matter, only Italy can receive illegal migrants, and they cannot be held in closed camps. The ruling came as a cold shower for government officials, as they had taken every legal step to ensure that there would be no further obstacles to placing migrants from Egypt and Bangladesh outside European borders.
Reports indicate that those waiting in Libya are willing to pay people smugglers up to ten thousand euros for the sea crossing, eager to depart before a decision is made regarding the operation of the Albanian camps.
Italian opposition parties welcomed the news of the third suspension of the Albanian camps with great enthusiasm. Left-wing organizations and politicians held a small demonstration at the southern Italian port of Bari to greet the illegal migrants who had been turned back from Albania. Ilaria Salis, a far-left Member of the European Parliament, voiced her support for the migrants in a message posted on social media. According to her, illegal migrants should be given free passage into Europe.
Cover photo: Ilaria Salis, far-left Member of the European Parliament (Photo: AFP)
