Salvini Warns Berlin: Italy Will Not Accept Migrants Returned From Germany

Italy will not accept the return of migrants from Germany under new European Union regulations, declared Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini. The hard-right League leader asserted that Italy's refusal is justified by the actions of German aid organizations operating rescue ships in the Mediterranean.

Salvini argued that these German vessels pick up migrants and bring them to Italian shores. He stated that Germany has no right to send even one illegal migrant back to Italy, given that these German NGOs are actively involved in bringing thousands of migrants to Italy and Europe. This position highlights a significant disagreement between the Rome and Berlin governments regarding the management of what is termed secondary migration.

The new EU pact on asylum and migration, which came into effect in mid-June, allows countries like Germany to send back migrants who entered the EU via Italian coastlines and subsequently traveled to other European nations. However, Rome has not yet accepted any returned migrants from Germany since the pact's implementation. Prior to this, Italy had already rejected approximately 80,000 requests for migrant returns from other countries in 2023, citing a fully saturated national reception system.

According to Italian media reports, the dispute between Rome and Berlin is expected to be a topic of discussion in upcoming talks between their respective foreign ministers. Salvini, who also serves as Minister of Transport in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition government, made these remarks at a rally in Trento.

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Germany has no right to send us back even one illegal migrant as long as German non-governmental organizations' ships operate in the Mediterranean and bring thousands of illegal migrants to the coast, to Italy and Europe.