Premier Giorgia Meloni's office expressed staunch criticism after the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) handed a setback to government's controversial agreement with Tirana for Italian-run migrant-processing centres in Albania with a ruling on Friday.
The ECJ said it was legitimate for national governments to decide which countries of origin are safe via legislation, as Italy has done in a bid to overcome legal hurdles to implementing the agreement.
But the court also stressed that this must "be subject to effective judicial review" and that a Member State may not include a country in the list of safe countries of origin "if that country does not offer adequate protection to its entire population".
In a statement, Meloni's office said the decision was "surprising" and worrying.
"Once again the jurisdiction, this time European, claims spaces that do not belong to it, in the face of responsibilities that are political," the statement continued.
