Germany registered in the first six months of 2026 the arrival on its territory of 11,745 so-called Dublin migrants, meaning individuals who under European regulations should be returned to the EU country of first arrival. Of these, 7,591 were confirmed as asylum seekers who had entered through first-arrival member states, including Italy, Greece, and Spain.

The first actual transfer to Italy after a period of suspension concerns Somali citizen Abdirisaq Warsame, who arrived in Hesse in late March 2026, with her return to Italy scheduled for August 19. The news was picked up by major German newspapers, including Bild and Suddeutsche Zeitung.

Rome and Berlin had signed a moratorium suspending transfers. However, there is a disagreement over its duration: according to German authorities the suspension period expired in December 2025, while according to the Italian Interior Ministry, led by Matteo Piantedosi, the moratorium is valid until June 2026, when all countries signed the document on the reform of asylum law.

Piantedosi also argued that Germany should retain its Dublin migrants because some non-governmental organizations conducting sea rescue operations fly the German flag. The legal validity of this argument is currently under evaluation.

The regulatory context is provided by the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which entered into force on June 12, 2026. The component relevant to Dublin migrants is the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, which strengthens transfer procedures when an asylum seeker moves without authorization from one member state to another. The responsible state is identified through the Eurodac system and the transfer can occur through a simplified procedure. In case of non-compliance, the European Commission can initiate infringement proceedings, other member states can suspend mandatory solidarity, and, theoretically, some EU funds can be frozen.

The political debate in Germany sees Chancellor Friedrich Merz addressing the transfer issue in conjunction with regional elections scheduled for September in three eastern Laender, where migration is a central campaign topic. In Italy, the government had committed to a target of 16,000 expulsions, while in the previous year fewer than 7,000 had been carried out, according to reported data.