Italian judges have blocked prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s scheme to detain migrants in centres in Albania, according to reports.

Rome’s court of appeals refused to sign off on the detention and referred the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), meaning the 43 migrants in question must now be transferred to Italy instead, a source told AFP news agency.

The decision is a political headache for Ms Meloni, whose flagship plan to outsource migrant processing to a non-EU country and speed up repatriations of failed asylum seekers is being followed closely by other European nations.

The plan, heavily criticised by rights groups and opposition parties in Italy, has run into repeated roadblocks and the ECJ is examining legal questions raised by several Italian courts.

The 43 migrants were among a group of 49 people intercepted by Italian authorities as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean, and taken to Albania, where they arrived on Tuesday.

Most hailed from Bangladesh, while there were also six Egyptians, one man from the Ivory Coast and one from Gambia, according to rights associations following the case.

The 49 migrants were among 3,704 who arrived in Italy through Jan 27, with arrivals up more than double the same period last year.

Ms Meloni signed a deal with her Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, in November 2023 to open two Italian-run centres across the Adriatic in Albania.