EU asylum system paralyzed: Italy rejects migrants returned from Germany
A growing dispute between Italy and Germany is putting the EU’s asylum system under serious pressure, after Rome said it would not accept migrants returned from Germany while German NGO rescue ships continue operating in the Mediterranean.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said Germany should not return migrants to Italy while vessels operated by German humanitarian organizations continue rescuing people in the Mediterranean and bringing them to Italian ports.
According to the Italian government, German NGO vessels have rescued around 2,200 migrants in the Mediterranean and transported them to Italian ports since the beginning of 2026. Some of those migrants later traveled onward to other EU countries, including Germany.
The dispute comes after the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) entered into force in June. Under the new system, Germany and other EU countries can, under the Dublin rules, return certain migrants to Italy if they first entered the European Union through the Italian coast.
However, Italy has so far refused to accept migrants returned from Germany since the new CEAS rules took effect. Rome’s position is that it should not be expected to take people back while German organizations continue bringing newly rescued migrants to Italy.
The confrontation highlights a wider challenge for the EU, where responsibility for asylum seekers remains heavily concentrated on countries located along the Mediterranean migration routes. Italy has repeatedly argued that frontline states should not carry the burden alone.
Germany, meanwhile, relies on the European asylum framework to return migrants to the country responsible for processing their claims. Italy’s refusal could therefore create serious practical and political difficulties for the implementation of the new EU system.
The growing dispute between the two countries now threatens to become an early major test of whether the newly introduced European asylum rules can actually function when member states disagree over responsibility for migrants.