EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said the bloc can "learn lessons" from Italy's controversial screening policy for offshore migrants in Albania, ahead of an EU summit focused on migration.

She made the comments in a letter to member states ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, where she said the European Commission would present a new proposal for legislation to increase deportations of migrants.

Von der Leyen - who is just beginning her second five-year term as head of the European Commission - appears to be responding to pressure on migration from across Europe.

In her letter to member states, she said the return rate of irregular migrants from EU countries is currently only around 20% - meaning the vast majority of people who are ordered to leave a member state The EU does not do this.

Many simply stay put or move to another location within the block, she said.

Member states must recognize all decisions taken by other EU countries to ensure that "migrants who have a return decision against them in one country cannot exploit loopholes in the system to avoid being returned elsewhere," he wrote. Von der Leyen.

Her comments come as Italy launches its long-awaited scheme, under which some of the migrants rescued in the Mediterranean will be sent to Albania for screening.

Earlier this week, 16 men of Bangladeshi and Egyptian origin were moved from the migrant zone in Lampedusa, off the coast of Sicily, to one of two purpose-built centers on the Albanian coast, where their asylum claims will be processed. .

The centres, which cost around €650m (£547m), were due to open last spring but suffered long delays, have been paid for by the Italian government and will operate under Italian law.

Migrants will be housed there while Italy examines their asylum claims. Pregnant women, children and vulnerable persons will be excluded from the plan.

The political opponents of the right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as well as some NGOs have criticized Italy's agreement with Albania.

Riccardo Magi, an MP with the left-wing +Europa party, said Albania's scheme was "cruel, useless and expensive", while the NGO Doctors Without Borders said it was "likely to result in further harm and violations of human rights".

However, addressing MPs on Tuesday, Meloni argued that the plan was "a new, bold, unprecedented path" which "perfectly reflected the European spirit"./BBC/