Advocate General of the European
Court of Justice (ECJ) Richard de la Tour said Thursday in an
opinion related to the agreement between Rome and Tirana for
Italian-run migrant-processing centres in Albania that it is
legitimate for national governments to decide which countries of
origin are safe via legislation, as Italy has done.
Italian judges refused to validate the detention of the first
three groups of asylum seekers taken to Albania in October,
November and January, referring their cases to the ECJ - which
had established on October 4 that an applicant could not go
through a fast-track procedure that could lead to their
repatriation if their country of provenance was not deemed
wholly safe.
The countries of origin in the cases, Bangladesh and Egypt, were
not judged to be wholly safe across their territory and for all
categories of citizens.
The government tried to get around this hurdle with a measure
listing 19 safe countries for repatriation.
They included both Bangladesh and Egypt.
However, after the legislation was approved in December, Italian
judges asked the ECJ which parameter should be used when
determining safety and whether the principle of the primacy of
EU law should prevail if a conflict arises with Italian
legislation.
"A Member State may designate safe countries of origin by
legislative act and must disclose, for the purposes of judicial
review, the sources of information on which the designation is
based," de la Tour said in the opinion.
"The Member State may, under certain conditions, grant a third
country the status of safe country of origin, while identifying
limited categories of persons who may be exposed to the risk of
persecution or serious violations".
Although the opinion is not binding, it will be given
considerable importance by the court, which is expected to give
its ruling at the end of May or early in June.
While the government waits for the decision, it intends to use
the Albanian facilities as CPR detention centres for migrants
awaiting repatriation, rather than processing centres, with the
first groups expected to be taken to them on Friday.
De la Tour stressed that, when examining appeals against the
rejection of asylum requests, the fact that a third country had
been designated as safe did not mean judges cannot assess
whether the designation is legitimate.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
