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.

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.

The plan was heralded by the Italian government as an innovative model to manage and deter immigration, and criticized by human rights groups.