The specific case that led to the ECJ's opinion involved two Bangladeshi nationals who were rescued at sea by Italian authorities and taken to Italy's detention centre in Albania, where their asylum claims were rejected based on Italy's classification of Bangladesh as a "safe" country.

The European Union's top court on Friday backed Italian judges who questioned a list of "safe countries" drawn up by Rome to deport migrants to detention centres in Albania. The hard-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the European Court of Justice's ruling and said it "weakens policies to combat mass illegal immigration".