Plans of Italy's far-right government to build reception centres in Albania for refugees trying to enter the European Union by boat have been delayed, according to a newspaper report on Monday.
The camps, with capacity for up to 36,000 people per year, will not be able to open until November at the earliest, La Repubblica newspaper reported, citing the Defence Ministry.
There had recently been mention of an opening in mid-May. The government did not initially comment on the report.
Albania, a relatively poor country, is not yet an EU member though it has been a candidate for 10 years. Italy is one of the EU countries most affected by the movement of refugees from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean, with tens of thousands of people reaching the island of Lampedusa every year.
Meloni, who heads the far-right Fratelli d'Italia party, took office in 2022 promising to significantly reduce the number of arrivals.
Last year, however, almost 158,000 new arrivals were recorded, over 50,000 more than in 2022. So far this year, there have been around 16,000.
Italy seeks to bring refugees arriving by boat directly to two reception centres in Albania, located in the port city of Shengjin on the Adriatic and in Gjader which is a few kilometres inland.
People's asylum applications would be checked in the centres run by Italy and this would also facilitate faster deportations of those who are unsuccessful. Despite criticism of the agreement, the parliaments of both countries have approved the move.
The report says the Defence Ministry now plans to open the centres on November 10, due to construction delays.
The centres are also expressly not intended for migrants who arrive by boat on Italian shores or are picked up by private aid organizations but only those taken by the Italian authorities in international waters.
Italy is to bear all "direct and indirect" costs and has earmarked €675 million ($717 million) for the next 10 years, of which €142 million will be spent this year.