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 centers in Albania should be taken to Italy.

A cabinet meeting will be held on Monday to decide on the government's response.

An Italian navy ship transported the migrants to Albania earlier this week. Initially numbering 16, 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.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told a news conference he was confident the decision would be overturned, adding that the government would take its appeal right up to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Only migrants from a list of 22 nations that Italy has classified as safe can be sent to Albania.

Egypt and Bangladesh are among these, but a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the matter made it impossible to hold them in Albania, the Rome court said, adding that they had "a right to be brought to Italy."

Speaking to reporters during a trip to Lebanon, Meloni called the decision "prejudiced" and said it was up to her government to determine which countries are safe and which are not, suggesting she would draft new rules to address the issue.