Italy has resumed sending illegal migrants to its new Albania processing centre as Giorgia Meloni, the country’s prime minister, attempts to circumvent the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Ms Meloni’s government has built two reception centres in Albania, the first such example of a European Union nation diverting migrants to a non-EU country, but they have been empty since November after running into court opposition.

However, law changes in Italy have since attempted to overrule the ECJ after its verdict initially stopped the deportations.

“Following examinations of the conditions of the intercepted people, 49 foreign citizens have boarded the Cassiopea [an Italian navy vessel] for transfer to the Albanian centres where the reception, detention and evaluation procedures for individual cases will begin,” the Italian government said in a statement.

The government added that another 53 migrants had presented their passports, which would speed up their processing and increase the possibility of expelling “those who do not have the right to remain in the EU”.

Ms Meloni signed the deal with Edi Rama, her Albanian counterpart, in November 2023 to open two Italian-run centres across the Adriatic in Albania, to process some migrants rescued by Italian authorities in the Mediterranean Sea.