A special immigration court in Rome ruled that the 12 migrants, sent to the camp at Gjader not far from the Adriatic coast in northern Albania, should be brought back to Italy because they were from countries considered unsafe to be returned to.

Petillo also referred to Britain backing away from its controversial and expensive plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as ultimately unworkable. Italy’s center-left opposition quickly called for an end to the Albania plan, saying the court ruling proves its illegality.

PARIS/ROME (Reuters) -French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said on Friday that the type of deal Italy has struck to divert asylum-seekers to Albania for processing would not likely be feasible in France.

An Italian navy ship has taken back to Italy the first 12 migrants from newly opened asylum processing centers in Albania following a court decision in Rome.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier has expressed doubts that a recent migrant deal between Italy and Albania would work for his country. "I don’t think this example can be transposed (to France)," Barnier told reporters Friday in Menton,

Italian judges ruled Friday against the detention of the first migrants sent for processing in Albania, dealing a major blow to a flagship policy of Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier and Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani will meet at the border between the two countries on Friday in a bid to bolster cooperation against illegal immigration.