EU court adviser says Italy’s Albania migrant plan is in principle compatible with EU rules
Italy’s plan to send migrants to Albania for asylum processing received a legal boost after an adviser to the European Union’s top court said the arrangement is compatible in principle with EU rules, provided migrants’ rights are fully protected.
Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou issued the non-binding opinion on Thursday as the Court of Justice of the European Union weighs whether the scheme — the first of its kind between an EU member state and a non‑EU country — complies with EU law on returns and asylum procedures.
While judges are not bound by such opinions, they often follow them. The court has not indicated when it will deliver its ruling. Italy signed the agreement with Albania in 2023, but the initiative soon ran into legal headwinds. Italian courts ordered migrants transferred to Albania to be brought back to Italy over concerns about compliance with EU law.
In 2025, Rome’s Court of Appeal rejected fresh detention orders in two cases, prompting authorities to appeal to Italy’s top appeals court, which then referred key questions to the EU court in Luxembourg.
Emiliou said the court “should, in principle, regard the protocol and related Italian legislation as compatible with EU law, provided that the individual rights and guarantees of migrants under the European asylum system are fully maintained.” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the opinion, calling it validation of a programme she has presented as central to her tougher line on immigration.
On Thursday, she wrote on X: “An important piece of news, which confirms the validity of the path we have indicated and how much two years lost have cost Italy due to forced and unfounded judicial interpretations.” Meloni said in November that migrant centres in Albania were expected to become operational from mid-2026, when new EU migration and asylum rules are due to take effect.
Several other European countries have been watching the case as they assess whether the model could be replicated. For now, the policy’s fate rests with the forthcoming judgment, for which no date has been announced.