Bangladesh Outsourcing asylum procedures? Italy's "Albania model" before the ECJ
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) will rule on one aspect of the Italian "Albania model" for the first time this Friday (10.00 am).
01.08.2025, 04:13
SDA
The prestige project of the government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which aims to enable accelerated asylum procedures abroad, is controversial. What is the significance of the upcoming decision by the highest European court? The most important questions and answers:
What will the court decide on?
The case is about the conditions under which EU member states may classify countries as so-called safe countries of origin. In the specific case, Italy designated Bangladesh as a safe country of origin. The highest European court is now to clarify under which conditions the member states can make such a classification themselves under EU law. This includes the question of whether EU law allows a country to be classified as safe overall, even if it is not safe for certain groups - such as homosexuals.
What does the ruling mean for Germany?
Germany also has a list of safe countries of origin. In addition to the EU member states, it includes the Western Balkan countries as well as Georgia, Ghana, Moldova and Senegal. "The ruling is also groundbreaking for Germany, as the European guidelines for classifying safe countries of origin also apply here," says migration law expert Pauline Endres de Oliveira.
What do the country lists have to do with the "Albania model"?
The determination of safe countries of origin is a basic prerequisite for the implementation of the "Albania model". The background to this is that the EU member states can check the protection status of people who come from so-called safe countries of origin in a fast-track procedure. Italy wants to carry out such procedures outside the EU, specifically in Albania. The ECJ is therefore clarifying one aspect of the model and defining the framework conditions for examining asylum applications from Mediterranean refugees outside the EU.
According to legal expert Endres de Oliveira, it is unclear whether and how the "Albania model" can continue after the decision. "There are still numerous legal questions surrounding the 'Italy-Albania model'," explains the professor at Humboldt University Berlin. For example, whether the planned accommodation of asylum seekers in such centers would be legally equivalent to detention. That would be problematic, because according to international law, no one may be detained without a legal reason - and applying for asylum is not a reason for detention.
How exactly does the Italian model work?
Italy has concluded an agreement with Albania to examine asylum applications on Albanian territory, but in accordance with Italian law. Two camps have been built in Albania for this purpose, where Italian officials are to decide on asylum applications from migrants who have been stopped on the Mediterranean on their way to Europe. However, this only applies to migrants who come from so-called safe countries of origin and who are male and of legal age - women and minors are excluded. Applicants are not allowed to leave the camps in Albania while their applications are being examined. They are only allowed to travel to Italy if their asylum application is successful.
The model has not worked so far: the Italian judiciary stopped the plans of the right-wing governing coalition.
What is currently happening with the camps in Albania?
Following the defeats in Italian courts, Meloni's coalition passed a new decree in March, according to which rejected asylum seekers can be accommodated in Albania while they await deportation. This extended the possibility of using the camps. In April, rejected asylum seekers were transferred to the facility in Gjader in northern Albania for the first time.
Prior to this, the facilities were mostly empty and were mainly used by civil servants. Since the introduction of the new usage option, around 110 people had passed through the centers by the end of June, according to the magazine "Altreconomia", which cites data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of the Interior has not yet responded to a request for information on how many people are currently in the centers.
What is the EU's position on the model?
The Italian agreement with Albania was followed closely in several EU countries - not least because some governments could imagine similar models. Denmark, for example, showed an early interest in asylum procedures in third countries.
The major EU asylum reform does not stand in the way of this. It defines criteria for safe countries and makes provisions for asylum procedures in third countries, but wants to handle the procedures in a slightly different legal manner than the "Albania model".
In addition, the European Commission proposed an EU list of safe countries of origin in April. This would speed up asylum procedures for applicants from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia. The proposal still has to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
What does the German government say?
Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was open to such models in principle. He said during a visit to Rome in May that the outsourcing of asylum procedures would be examined despite the experiences in Italy. However, according to a report presented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior this year under the then Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), outsourcing asylum procedures to countries outside the EU would not be so easy to implement in practice.
The black-red cabinet also recently introduced a reform to allow safe countries of origin to be defined by decree - without the involvement of parliament or the Bundesrat.
What is the difference to return centers?
Several EU countries are currently discussing the idea of accommodating asylum seekers who have already been definitively rejected in third countries outside of Europe - in so-called repatriation centers. Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) recently confirmed this goal. The EU Commission has proposed a law on this, the EU states and parliament still have to negotiate. According to the original "Albania model", however, applications are to be examined abroad.
