Germany to resume Dublin transfers of asylum seekers to Italy starting August 19

Germany resumes Dublin transfers to Italy

Germany will begin returning asylum seekers to Italy under the Dublin Regulation, ending a de facto suspension that has lasted since 2022. A spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry told La Repubblica that Berlin intends to strictly apply European rules for "Dublin cases" arriving this year, and expects transfers to Italy and Greece to resume from June 12, 2026, the day the new European asylum rules (GEAS/SECA) entered into force. The number of people to be returned to Italy remains unclear; the spokesperson said it "depends on many factors" and declined to comment on individual cases.

The first case: Abdirisaq Warsame

The first person scheduled for transfer is Abdirisaq Warsame, a 22-year-old Somali woman who arrived in Germany on March 31, 2026, after transiting through Italy. She currently lives in a reception center in Niederwerrn, Bavaria. On June 25, she received a letter from the German Interior Ministry stating that on Wednesday, August 19, she would be transferred to Italy and that police would come to collect her. The ministry determined that Warsame "falls under Italy's jurisdiction" and that the conditions for an asylum application in Germany are not met, since under the Dublin Regulation she should have applied for asylum in Italy, the first EU country she entered. Warsame had fled her father and an arranged marriage. Her mother, brother, and other relatives already live in Germany, where she had submitted her asylum request. A request to Italian authorities to take her back was submitted in June; after the standard two-week response period elapsed with no reply, it was treated as tacit acceptance.

Political context and the December 2025 agreement

Since 2022, the Meloni government had refused to take back so-called "Dublin cases," citing a national emergency. In December 2025, Rome and Berlin signed an agreement to "wipe the slate clean" on past cases, allowing thousands of Dublin claimants who had reached Germany from Italy to remain. That arrangement was contingent on the European asylum reform not yet being in force. With the new rules active since June 12, 2026, Germany now considers the moratorium over for new arrivals. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, facing polls that show the AfD in steady ascent, has adopted a harder line on migration. Approximately 350,000 migrants have arrived in Italy since 2022, according to Tgcom24, many of whom continued onward to Germany.

Broader European tensions

Il Fatto Quotidiano connects Germany's move to Italy's recent handling of the Ceuta situation, in which Rome suspended Schengen and reintroduced controls at ports and airports for arrivals from Spain. That decision irritated Madrid, which responded in kind, and other member states that expected a more cooperative stance. Spain counted 80,000 irregular entries in a matter of hours, the outlet reports. The Five Star Movement (M5S) criticized the government, arguing that its behavior toward Madrid contributed to Germany's hardening position.

A functioning Dublin system is a prerequisite for the success of the European Asylum Reform (GEAS). Germany expects transfers to Italy and Greece to resume as of the aforementioned date.