Italy hails EU safe-country rules as 'success' for govt

ROME: Italy's interior minister on Wednesday called the tightening of asylum rules by the European Union a win for Rome, which had lobbied the bloc for more restrictions on migration.

The European Commission said earlier Wednesday that it was proposing to designate Bangladesh, Egypt, Tunisia, Colombia, India, Morocco and Kosovo as "safe countries".

That designation means it will be harder for citizens from those countries to claim asylum within the European Union. The move was hailed by Rome, "which has always worked both at a bilateral and multilateral level to obtain the revision of the regulation", said interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, calling the addition of the countries "a success for the Italian government".

Italy's hard-right government of Giorgia Meloni has vowed to cut irregular migration, but a flagship policy to operate migrant centres in Albania has hit a series of legal roadblocks and delays.