Italy-Germany Tensions Over EU Migration Pact and NGO Vessels
Italy and Germany are facing renewed tensions over migration as EU countries struggle to implement the bloc’s new migration and asylum rules. The dispute centers on migrant returns, NGO rescue ships and responsibility for people arriving through Italy.
Germany supports the return of so-called Dublin cases—people who entered the European Union through one member state and later moved to another without submitting an asylum application there. Italy, however, has strongly opposed the activities of German NGOs operating rescue vessels in the Mediterranean.
The dispute intensified after the German NGO vessel Sea Watch 5, which was docked in Naples, received a 45-day administrative detention order and a €7,500 fine. Italian authorities accused the vessel of failing to properly coordinate with Libya’s coast guard during rescue operations.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi has argued that rescue missions at sea should be coordinated exclusively by the authorities responsible for the relevant maritime area. The NGO, however, rejected the accusations and said it had deliberately avoided Libya’s maritime rescue coordination center because it considered the organization unsafe and unsuitable for coordinating rescues.
The German organization also claimed that Libyan officials had threatened its crew. According to the NGO, armed individuals were involved in an incident following a rescue operation, prompting the crew to leave the area. The organization has said it intends to challenge the Italian penalty.
The dispute could soon move to the negotiating table. Piantedosi is expected to meet German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt next month to discuss migrant returns and the role of private rescue organizations. One proposal under consideration involves a compensation mechanism connecting migrant transfers with people rescued by civilian vessels.
Piantedosi has said he and his German counterpart agree that NGO rescue operations can act as an incentive for irregular migration. The disagreement comes as the EU attempts to put its new migration framework into practice, exposing continuing divisions between member states over who should accept migrants and how responsibility should be shared.