Germany and Italy to enhance cooperation on migration

Germany and Italy intend to enhance their cooperation on migration management, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Following a conversation with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Tajani announced a commitment to close coordination between the two nations on the issue.

Both ministers agreed on the "necessity of ensuring maximum protection at the European external borders," Tajani stated. However, he remained non-committal when asked about the potential return of asylum seekers to Italy who had initially entered the EU through the country before proceeding to Germany. This issue is a significant point of friction, as Germany seeks to return such migrants under existing EU regulations, a move currently resisted by Italy's right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The Dublin Regulation typically requires asylum applications to be processed in the first EU country a refugee enters. Italy has been refusing to accept these "Dublin migrants" from Germany since 2022, citing the overload of its national reception system. A new EU asylum system took effect in June, but its impact on these bilateral disputes remains to be seen. Italian media reports indicated a planned transfer of a migrant who arrived in Lampedusa in March and later went to Germany, but this did not occur. Additionally, there are calls within Meloni's coalition for compensation, as aid organizations sailing under the German flag are bringing migrants to Italy who embarked from the North African coast.