This is the implication of several judges in Rome refusing to give their approval for the migrants to be taken to Albania.
The message is a new setback for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's criticized migrant agreement with Albania.
The Italian government approved a new law in October aimed at counteracting the legal resistance to the migrant agreement. The law is intended to give Rome the legal right to expedite asylum applications and establish Italy's definition of which countries outside the EU are considered safe.
The law came after twelve migrants were returned to Italy since a court ruled that they could not be placed in Albania during the asylum process.
The verdict was based on a recent ruling by the EU Court of Justice, which states that parts of countries outside the EU cannot be classified as safe unless the entire country is considered so.
In November last year, Italy and Albania signed an agreement that migrants caught by Italian ships within the country's search and rescue area would be taken to Albania. They would be held there pending a decision on asylum – with the exception of those considered vulnerable according to the law.
