Italy's Meloni defends migrant deal with Albania

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended Thursday her controversial migration deal with Albania, vowing the legal hurdles that have delayed the full operation of migrant detention centres outside Italy would soon be overcome.

"Certainly, the protocol will work when the new (EU) migration and asylum pact comes into effect," the far-right prime minister said following a summit with Albania in Rome.

"When the migration and asylum pact comes into effect, the centres will operate exactly as they should have from the beginning," Meloni added, referring to a pact adopted by the European Union that is due to come into force in mid-2026.

Meloni and her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rami, signed a deal two years ago to outsource the processing of asylum seekers intercepted at sea to Italian-funded and operated centres in the Balkan country -- an experimental scheme closely watched by the rest of the European Union.

But repeated legal challenges from Italian courts, with many judges viewing the scheme as unconstitutional, have stalled Meloni's hallmark policy. The migrant centres have largely stood empty since being opened one year ago despite the government's attempt to repurpose them into facilities for those awaiting deportation.

The milestone migration pact signed by the EU last year toughens border procedures and envisages accelerated deportations.

Since it was passed, the EU's executive has laid the groundwork for states to set up migrant return centres outside the bloc, while publishing a list of so-called "safe" countries of origin that will make it harder for citizens of those nations to claim asylum.

During the Rome summit, Albania and Italy -- which represents the Balkan nation's main trading partner -- signed more than a dozen agreements intended to boost collaboration in areas from energy, transportation and security to defence and civil protection.

Meloni told journalists after the signing that Italy supports Albania joining the EU.

Italy will also deliver two patrol boats to Albania's coastguard, while the agreements also included measures to boost the Balkan nation's ability to combat drug trafficking, Rome said in a statement.