Italy blocks migrant returns from Germany amid EU pact dispute

Italy is refusing to accept the return of migrants from Germany, despite a new EU migration pact, according to Vice Premier Matteo Salvini. The leader of the right-wing Lega party argued that Germany has no right to send any "illegal immigrants" back as long as German NGOs are actively rescuing migrants at sea and bringing them to Italy.

Salvini, who also serves as transport minister in Giorgia Meloni's coalition government, made these remarks at a party meeting in Trentino. He asserted that German NGOs operating in the Mediterranean are bringing thousands of migrants to Italy and Europe, many of whom then travel on to Germany. This situation has led to a dispute between the Italian and German governments regarding the handling of "secondary migrants" – those who move to another EU country after arriving in the first.

Italy has reportedly rejected around 80,000 return requests from other countries since the beginning of 2023, citing the complete overload of its national reception system. The new EU asylum and migration pact, effective since mid-June, aims to allow Germany and other countries to send back migrants who initially arrived via the Italian coast. This policy is rooted in the Dublin regulation, which mandates that asylum seekers must apply in the first EU country they enter.

Salvini, previously Italy's interior minister, was known for his hardline stance against migrant boats and aid organizations. In 2019, he detained a rescue ship with migrants off the Italian coast for days, leading to a six-year prison sentence request from prosecutors. However, he was later acquitted by Italy's supreme court in 2025. Reports suggest a meeting between Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and his German counterpart is planned to address the ongoing dispute.

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Germany has no right to send us back even a single illegal immigrant as long as German NGO ships are active in the Mediterranean Sea, picking up thousands of illegal immigrants and bringing them to land in Italy and Europe.