Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's five-year deal to send migrants rescued at sea to camps in Albania for processing has been dealt a significant blow by the courts, only days after the first arrivals.

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

An Italian coastguard vessel collected migrants that were held in reception centres in Albania and transferred them to Italy on Saturday, after a court ruling dealt a blow to Rome's plans to house migrants picked up at sea outside the EU.

Human rights groups and some analysts call Italy's opening this week of migrant processing centers in Albania controversial and illegal. The Italian government is now appealing a court ruling against its flagship project to move migrant facilities offshore.

Italy takes back the first group of migrants sent to Albania for processing:: Shengjin, Albania ::The migrants were taken to Albania earlier this week by an Italian navy ship. They originally numbered 16,

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.