(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 1 - European Court of Justice (ECJ) said Friday that it is legitimate for national governments to decide which countries of origin are safe via legislation, as Italy has done, in a decision related to the controversial agreement between Rome and Tirana for Italian-run migrant-processing centres in Albania. But the court also stressed that EU member states can do this "provided that such a designation can be subject to effective judicial review". A member state, moreover, cannot include a country that "does not offer sufficient protection to its entire population" on a safe list, the court said. It added that these conditions are only valid until the entry into force of the new EU regulation, "which allows designations with exceptions for certain clearly identifiable categories of persons" and is expected to become effective on June 12, 2026. Italian judges refused to validate the detention of the first three groups of asylum seekers taken to Albania in October, November and January, referring their cases to the ECJ - which had established on October 4 that an applicant could not go through a fast-track procedure that could lead to their repatriation if their country of provenance was not deemed wholly safe. The countries of origin in the cases, Bangladesh and Egypt, were not judged to be wholly safe across their territory and for all categories of citizens. The government tried to get around this hurdle with a measure listing 19 safe countries for repatriation. They included both Bangladesh and Egypt. However, after the legislation was approved in December, Italian judges asked the ECJ which parameter should be used when determining safety and whether the principle of the primacy of EU law should prevail if a conflict arises with Italian legislation. Rome had initially intended to process migrants at one of the centres set up outside Italian territory under an innovative and controversial agreement with Tirana. But it started to use its facility at Gjader as a repatriation CPR centre to overcome legal hurdles regarding migrant cases being processed there. The scheme has won appreciation at the international level, being hailed by many leaders as an innovative way to deter illegal migrant flows. But Italian opposition groups have said it is just an expensive propaganda stunt. (ANSA).