Germany said on Wednesday that it was suspending the voluntary reception of asylum seekers from Italy, provided for by the European agreements, due to “strong migratory pressure” and Rome’s refusal to apply the same agreements. The German government informed Rome of its decision “at the end of August,” an Interior Ministry spokesperson told AFP.
This suspension “until further notice” concerns the “voluntary European solidarity mechanism” which organizes the relocation of asylum seekers from the country of arrival in the EU to other voluntary Member States, in order to relieve States like Italy or Greece, gateways to Europe. Berlin justifies this decision by “the current strong migratory pressure towards Germany” as well as “the persistent suspension of transfers from Dublin by certain member states”, including Italy, which “reinforces the major challenges for Germany in terms of reception and accommodation capacities”.
The Dublin regulation, very controversial among the Twenty-seven, provides that the country of arrival of a migrant in the EU processes his asylum application. However, according to the German newspaper Die Welt, the Italian government of Giorgia Meloni no longer takes back asylum seekers who want to transfer it from other countries, having indicated in December 2022 to its partners that the country no longer had the capacity to sufficient reception.
“Out of more than 12,400 requests for care made to Italy this year until the end of August, 10 transfers have been carried out so far,” confirmed Maximilian Kall, spokesperson for the ministry, during a government press briefing. Under the voluntary relocation mechanism, Germany has so far agreed to the transfer of 1,700 asylum seekers who arrived in southern Europe, out of 3,500 people it has committed to welcoming .
Italy, led since October 2022 by Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, has for years been one of the main gateways for immigration by sea from Africa to Africa. ‘Europe. The subject is also becoming very sensitive in Germany, against a backdrop of the rise of the far right in the polls and an increase in illegal immigration for several months. “Today we are facing a very tense situation in many municipalities in Germany,” insisted the Interior Ministry spokesperson.
