Italy’s hardline migration policy under Giorgia Meloni has suffered yet another embarrassing setback. In what is now the third failed attempt to process asylum seekers outside the European Union, Italy was forced to take back 43 migrants it had transferred to Albania. This latest debacle highlights not just the impracticality of Meloni’s migration strategy but also the growing disconnect between populist rhetoric and legal reality.
A Migration Plan Built on Legal Sand
When Italy signed a five-year deal to process up to 3,000 migrants per month in Albania, it was touted as a game-changing approach to curb illegal immigration. The logic? Offloading asylum seekers to a non-EU country would supposedly speed up deportations, avoid prolonged legal battles in Italian courts, and discourage new arrivals.
But from the very beginning, this plan was flawed. EU law, international treaties, and human rights protections make it nearly impossible for Italy to sidestep its responsibilities simply by outsourcing them. The Italian judiciary has repeatedly struck down attempts to fast-track expulsions, and now the European Court of Justice is set to weigh in—almost certainly dealing another blow to the government’s ambitions.
So far, the numbers tell a humiliating story: out of the small handful of migrants transferred to Albania, most have already been sent back. If Italy can’t even process 49 people successfully, how does it expect to handle thousands?
Meloni’s Migration Crackdown: More Optics Than Strategy
The Meloni government has made immigration crackdowns a cornerstone of its agenda, selling tough policies to a public increasingly frustrated by migrant arrivals. Yet, the Albania deal—like many of her other migration policies—seems more focused on appearances than on real, enforceable solutions.
The truth is, the problem isn’t just about where migrants are processed; it’s about why so many continue to arrive in the first place. The central Mediterranean remains one of the world’s deadliest migration routes, and desperate people fleeing economic collapse, war, and political persecution won’t be deterred by legal technicalities.
Rather than investing in long-term solutions—such as stabilising the regions people are fleeing from, streamlining legal migration pathways, or negotiating realistic EU-wide reforms—Italy has instead opted for short-lived stunts that unravel the moment they collide with reality.
A European Interest, A Human Rights Disaster
Despite its failures, the Albania deal has drawn interest from other European nations eager to find a way to reduce asylum claims within the EU. This raises an even more troubling question: is Europe moving towards a model of outsourcing migration management to poorer, non-EU states?
This isn’t a new concept. The EU already pays Libya to stop migrant boats (despite well-documented human rights abuses in Libyan detention centres). The UK has been pushing its own deeply controversial Rwanda plan. And now, Italy’s failed Albania experiment raises concerns about Europe increasingly turning a blind eye to the legal and ethical implications of these arrangements.
But if this latest episode proves anything, it’s that legal shortcuts won’t work. EU treaties, human rights laws, and judicial oversight remain major obstacles to such policies—and rightfully so.
The Bottom Line: Another Failed Attempt, No Real Answers
The forced return of these 43 migrants is more than just a minor legal setback—it’s a clear sign that Italy’s migration strategy is crumbling under its own contradictions. The government can keep trying to push migrants beyond its borders, but as long as international law exists, it will keep running into the same roadblocks.
Rather than continuing down this dead-end path, Italy needs to rethink its approach entirely. Because right now, the only thing this policy is achieving is yet another high-profile failure on the world stage.