Italy's contested deal to send migrants to Albania gets legal lifeline

BRUSSELS, April 23 (Reuters) - Italy's deal to send migrants to Albania while their asylum claims are processed is compatible in principle with EU rules, an adviser to the bloc’s top court said on Thursday, offering a lifeline to a policy repeatedly challenged in the courts.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the statement as a validation of a programme she had presented as a cornerstone of her tough approach to immigration.

Several other European countries have been considering it as a possible model, and watching its progress through the legal system.

The Court of Justice of the European Union is due to rule on whether the scheme - the first of its kind between an EU member state and a non‑EU country - complies with EU law.

The court's adviser, Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou, said on Thursday the agreement met EU rules on return and asylum procedures in principle, as long as migrants’ rights are fully protected.

His office's opinions are not binding, but EU court judges typically follow them in their rulings on cases. The bloc's top court has not said when it might rule.

Italy signed the deal with Albania in 2023. But the scheme stalled soon after launch when Italian courts ordered migrants transferred to Albania to be returned to Italy, citing concerns over compliance with EU law.

Rome’s Court of Appeal rejected fresh detention orders in two cases in 2025, prompting Italian authorities to appeal to Italy's top appeals court, which referred legal questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Emiliou said that top 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.”

Meloni said in November that the Albanian migrant centres would become operational from mid-2026, when new EU migration and asylum rules are due to take effect.

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."

(Reporting by Amina Ismail and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Andrew Heavens)