Germany has announced the resumption of transfers of migrants to Italy and Greece under the Dublin Regulation, after a suspension lasting approximately three and a half years. The transfers concern individuals who entered the European Union through the two Mediterranean countries after the European asylum reform, known as GEAS, entered into force in June 2026.

Italy had suspended the acceptance of so-called Dublin returnees on December 5, 2022, invoking a national emergency. Following Germany's acceptance of this suspension, thousands of asylum seekers remained in Germany in a state of legal uncertainty. In December 2025, Rome and Berlin reached a bilateral transitional agreement to handle the backlog of accumulated cases, ahead of the new European system taking effect.

With the launch of the GEAS, both Italy and Greece had committed to fully reapplying the Dublin Regulation. A spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry, led by Alexander Dobrindt, stated that a functioning Dublin system is a prerequisite for the success of the European asylum reform. The first transfer to Italy is scheduled for August 19 and involves a 22-year-old Somali woman, Abdirisaq Warsame, who arrived in Germany in March 2026.

According to reports, the Italian Interior Ministry clarified that no returns would be accepted for individuals who arrived before June 12, 2026, a date identified as the threshold for the application of the new framework. It is not yet known how many people will be subject to transfers in the coming period.

Since the beginning of the Meloni government's term, approximately 340,000 migrants have landed in Italy. A significant portion of these flows treated the country as a transit point toward other European destinations, including the German cities of Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg.

The issue is part of a broader context of European tensions over migration management: Rome is also engaged in a diplomatic dispute with Spain regarding the Ceuta crisis, with Italian borders closed toward Madrid and Spanish checks on arrivals from Italy. In Germany, polls indicate electoral growth for the Alternative für Deutschland party, a factor cited in public debate as a possible source of pressure on government migration policy.