Migration: outsourcing asylum procedures? Court of court intensified conditions

The Court of Court of the European Union (ECJ) has drawn up guidelines for the Italian “Albania model” for accelerated asylum procedures abroad. The government’s prestige project under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is controversial. What is the importance of the decision of the highest European court? The most important questions and answers:

What did the court decide?

The process was about the conditions under which EU member states are allowed to classify countries as so-called safe countries of origin. In the specific case, Italy determined, among other things, Bangladesh as a safe state of origin. The highest European court has now clarified: member states can make such a classification according to EU law, but you have to disclose the sources for your assessment – so that it can be checked in court.

In addition, the judges in Luxembourg decided that – at least until the entry into force of a new EU asylum regulation – a country is not a “safe” state of origin if certain groups of people, such as homosexual people, are not safe there.

What does the judgment mean for Germany?

The Federal Republic also has a list of safe countries of origin. In addition to the EU member states, it includes the Western Balkans and Georgia, Ghana, Moldova and Senegal. “The judgment is also groundbreaking for Germany, because the European requirements for the classification of safe countries of origin also apply here,” says migration law expert Pauline Endres de Oliveira.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior responsible for the topic initially said nothing about concrete effects of the judgment for Germany. A spokesman said that the decision of the ECJ will be evaluated. He pointed out that the reasons for classifying a state of origin are already being released as safe and that Germany is generally only classified by states if the population is considered safe there.

Recently, the black and red cabinet also brought a reform on the way in order to be able to determine safe countries of origin by regulation – without the participation of the parliament and the Federal Council.

What do the country lists have to do with the “Albania model”?

The determination of safe countries of origin is a basic requirement for the implementation of the “Albania model”. The background is that the EU member states can check the protection status in people who come from so-called safe countries of origin in a quick procedure.

Italy wants to carry out such procedures outside the EU, specifically in Albania. The ECJ therefore only clarified a partial question of the model and stuck framework conditions for the examination of asylum applications from Mediterranean migrants outside the EU.

According to the right-wing expert Endres de Oliveira, it is unclear whether and how it can continue with the “Albania model” after the decision with the “Albania model”. “There are still numerous legal issues that” stand in the room at the “Italy-Albania model”, explains the professor of the Humboldt University in Berlin. For example, whether the planned accommodation of asylum seekers in such centers is legally equivalent to a detention. That would be problematic, because under international law nobody should be detained without a legal reason – and it is not a reason to make an application for asylum.

How did the Italian government react?

The verdict met with sharp criticism in Italy. The decision is surprising and further restricted the already limited scope for action of the governments, said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “This is a step that should all worry.” The judiciary – this time the European – claims “who are not entitled to it, while the responsibility is in politics,” said the head of the right -wing government party Fratelli d’Italia (Italy’s brothers). Accordingly, the judgment provides priority before the evaluation by specialist ministries and parliament.

How does the Italian model work exactly?

Italy has concluded an agreement with Albania about the examination of asylum applications on Albanian territory, but according to Italian law. For this purpose, two camps in Albania were built in which Italian officials are to decide on asylum applications from migrants who were stopped on the way to Europe on the Mediterranean. However, this only affects migrants who come from so -called safe countries of origin and who are of legal age and male – women and minors are excluded. During the application test, applicants should not leave the camps in Albania. You can only go to Italy if your asylum application is successful.

The model has not worked so far: the Italian judiciary stopped the right -wing government coalition’s plans.

What is currently happening with the camps in Albania?

After the defeats in front of Italian courts, Meloni’s coalition adopted a new decree in March, according to which rejected asylum seekers can be accommodated in Albania while waiting for the deportation. In doing so, she expanded the option of the camps. In April, asylum seekers rejected for the first time were transferred to the facility in Gjader northern Albanian.

In front of it, the facilities were mostly empty and were mainly used by officials. Since the introduction of the new usage option, around 110 people have passed the centers by the end of June since June. So far, the Ministry of the Interior has not answered the request of how many people are currently in the facilities.

How does the EU feel the model?

The Italian Agreement with Albania was carefully pursued in several EU countries-not least because some governments could imagine similar models. Denmark, for example, showed interest in asylum procedures in third countries early on.

A new regulation in the EU stipulates that states can also be classified as a safe country of origin under the exceptions to groups of people and certain regions as a whole. The provision is part of the large EU asylum law reform, which applies from June 2026. The court in Luxembourg noticed that the EU is released to provide the time for the entry into force of the provision. The EU Commission made such a proposal in April. Accordingly, Member States should be able to name safe countries of origin with the exceptions mentioned. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union still have to agree with the proposal. Until then, old EU law applies – and the interpretation of the court.

In addition, the European Commission proposed an EU list of safe countries of origin in April. Asylum procedures should therefore become faster for applicants from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union still have to agree to the proposal.

What is the difference between returning centers?

Several EU countries are currently talking about the idea of accommodating asylum seekers in third countries outside of Europe – in so -called return centers. Germany’s interior minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) recently confirmed this goal. The EU Commission has proposed a law that the EU countries and the parliament still have to negotiate. According to the original “Albania model”, the application test abroad should take place.