Managing Migration the Italian Way II
Eight months after first exploring the legal contours of the “innovative” Italy-Albania Protocol and its temporary suspension following the Court of Rome’s refusal to validate the detention of the first group of asylum applicants transferred to Albania, this post turns to a new and potentially game-changing development: a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), submitted by the Italian Court of Cassation on 20 June 2025. The referral raises doubts about the compatibility of the scheme with both the Return Directive (RD) and the Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). This move adds fresh legal uncertainty to a deal already under intense scrutiny and could significantly impact its implementation.
