Finland prepares to return asylum seekers to Italy under new EU rules

Finland is preparing to transfer individual asylum seekers to Italy, a move facilitated by new European Union regulations. Kukka Krüger, a leading expert at Finland's Ministry of the Interior, confirmed the plans to Helsingin Sanomat.

Italy had halted the acceptance of asylum seekers transferred under the Dublin Regulation in 2022, citing a lack of reception capacity. However, the new EU legislation makes it more difficult for countries to refuse such transfers. Under the revised system, the responsible member state cannot simply block a transfer by refusing to accept the applicant.

Krüger explained that if it is determined an individual entered the EU illegally through Italy, Finland can request their transfer. Italy would then assess its responsibility, after which the Finnish Immigration Service could proceed with the transfer. This change aims to ensure that asylum procedures are applied more consistently across the EU and to reduce irregular migration to Europe.

Despite the new rules, the European Commission noted in July that Italy had not yet fully resumed normal reception of asylum seekers. In the first few weeks of the new system, Italy rejected 12 transfer requests, even though the regulation states that the responsible member state cannot refuse a transfer but must propose an alternative date or location if necessary. The new framework, the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR), came into effect on June 12.

“

The regulation is structured so that a country can no longer refuse to receive transfers.