PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - 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.
European Union leaders are grappling with illegal immigration, which has become a highly sensitive topic in many countries in the 27-member bloc. At a summit on Thursday, they agreed to use all their leverage, including trade, development aid and visa policy, to speed up returns of migrants illegally entering the bloc.
The Italian government's plan, which has been criticised by rights groups, was dealt a blow on Friday when a Rome court said 16 migrants, who were rescued and taken to Albania by an Italian navy ship earlier this week, had a right to be brought back to Italy.
"I don't think this example can be transposed (in France)," Barnier told reporters when asked about Italy's deal with Albania.
Barnier said that for legal and institutional reasons, and because the context was different, the Albania deal did not seem doable in France.
Barnier did not comment on the court order. He was speaking after meeting with Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani at the border between France and Italy, where both pledged to bolster the two countries' cooperation against illegal immigration.
France and Italy will, among other steps, create a joint police team to investigate migrant smuggling, Barnier told reporters.
Although illegal immigration remains a highly sensitive topic, irregular migrants arriving in Europe last year were a third of the 1 million seen during the crisis in 2015, and numbers fell further this year.
Over the past years, there have been tensions between France and Italy, both European Union members, over the politically sensitive issue of immigration.
But at a time when the two are among countries pushing the European Union to toughen its stance, and with a new government in place in France, they pledged to turn the page.
Speaking to reporters in Ventimiglia, on the Italian side of the border, Tajani said the two countries had identical views on immigration, including on the need to work together.
France's new minority government, which depends on the far-right National Rally to survive, has cited the fight against illegal immigration as one of its top priorities, and Barnier is keen to work with other European leaders on this issue, whatever their political colours, French government officials told Reuters.