Germany pushes to restart Dublin transfers to Italy and Greece after EU pact
Berlin says Dublin must work for the EU asylum system to function; first return to Italy scheduled for 19 August.
Germany has signalled a tougher approach to returning migrants and expects transfers back to first-entry EU states such as Italy and Greece to resume after the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum entered into force on 12 June.
A spokesman for the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said the operation of the Dublin system is "a necessary condition" for the functioning of the EU-wide asylum framework and that Berlin expects transfers to recommence from 12 June.
First specific return set for 19 August
The first concrete case announced involves a 22-year-old Somali woman, Abdirisak Warsame, who arrived in Germany in March after having travelled through Italy. German authorities say she is currently hosted at a reception centre in Nidervern in the state of Bavaria and that she will be transferred to Italy on 19 August; the ministry notified her in writing and informed her that police will collect her on the notification date.
Under the Dublin rules, asylum claims by migrants from countries outside the EU should be examined in the first member state through which they entered. German officials concluded that Warsame falls under Italy's responsibility because Italy was her point of first entry into the EU.
Germany says it sent a request to Italy in June; after no reply arrived within the two-week deadline, the transfer request was automatically considered accepted. Italy's Ministry of the Interior, however, replied that "there are no migrants under the Dublin Regulation that we must take back from Germany." Italian authorities also argued that migrants who reached Italy before 12 June and then moved on to other member states are covered by bilateral agreements Italy has concluded with certain countries.
The development marks an early concrete test of how the newly activated EU pact and a revived Dublin mechanism will work in practice, and it is likely to reignite debate among member states over responsibility-sharing for asylum seekers.
Photo: press material from the event
