Italy ready to activate migrant centres in Albania, Meloni says

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government is ready to push ahead with a contested plan to hold asylum seekers in detention centres in Albania, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday.

Meloni struck a deal with Tirana last year to divert to the Balkan country some of the migrants Italy picked up at sea, saying the scheme would act as a deterrent against departures from Africa.

However the flagship plan has met court opposition in recent months. Judges raised doubts over its compliance with EU law and ruled the first two groups of migrants detained in the centres had to be transferred to Italy, leaving the facilities empty.

Speaking at an annual news conference with parliamentary reporters, Meloni said the EU court of justice would start reviewing the case in February, adding that a majority of EU member states agreed with Rome on the Albanian camps.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Writing by Crispian Balmer, editing by Alvise Armellini)

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