Migrants held in Albania transferred to Italy after court ruling

SHENGJIN, Albania, Oct 19 (Reuters) - 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.

The Italian government vowed on Friday to push ahead with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's flagship project to divert asylum-seekers abroad, saying it would appeal against the legal decision that migrants in reception centres in Albania should be taken to Italy.

A cabinet meeting will be held on Monday to decide on the government's response. The migrants were taken to Albania earlier this week by an Italian navy ship. They originally numbered 16, but four have already been brought to Italy for health reasons or because they were minors.

The court said the 12 migrants in the new Albanian facility of Gjader had to return to Italy because their countries of origin -- Egypt and Bangladesh -- could not be considered safe.