(AP) An Italian naval ship carrying migrants was en route Wednesday to Albania to have asylum applications processed under a five-year deal to handle asylum claims outside the European Union’s borders that has already hit a legal roadblock.
An Italian interior ministry spokesman confirmed that the naval ship Libra was heading to the Balkan nation, but declined to say how many migrants were aboard and when it would arrive.
The Italian daily La Repubblica reported that out of 1,200 migrant arrivals on Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa over the last two days, just eight male adults traveling without families met the criteria for being screened in Albania, including that they come from countries deemed “safe” for repatriation.
