Migrants: the ‘Dublin’ case between Italia and Germany – how many are there and what are the rules?
Italia is the country that has received the most readmission requests from other EU Member States
Key points
An ongoing case that could reach a turning point on Wednesday 19 August, when the 22-year-old Somali asylum seeker – who was first registered in Italia and then moved to Germany – is due to return to Italia.
The Rome-Berlin Standoff
The Ministry of the Interior, however, has already made it clear that it will block the procedure. For the time being, Berlin is adopting a cautious stance: “We do not comment on individual cases,” said Sonja Kock, spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry, reiterating that “Germany and Italia are working in close cooperation and with mutual trust on migration policies”. But behind the official reassurances, the issue of the so-called ‘Dublin cases’ between Rome and Berlin is far from resolved.
The ‘Dublin cases’
This term refers to asylum seekers who, after having lodged an application for protection in the first EU Member State in which they were identified under the 2003 Dublin Regulation, move to another country and lodge a new application there. In such cases, the rule provides for return to the country of first entry, which remains responsible for examining the application.
Italia tops the list for enquiries
The figures reveal an imbalance. According to the latest Eurostat data for 2025, as reported by ANSA, Italia is the country that has received the most readmission requests from other EU Member States – 24,152 – but only 85 have actually been granted. Germany, by contrast, is the country that has sent the most requests – 35,993 – with 5,377 transfers actually taking place.
The European Pact of 12 June
A tug-of-war is currently underway between Rome and Berlin on this issue, despite the agreement reached last December. The Ministry of the Interior maintains that the entry into force of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum on 12 June effectively reset the tally of secondary migrants to be taken back by Germany. Berlin takes a different view: in recent days, it has asked Italia to take back three migrants who arrived just before 12 June. The new Pact confirms that the responsibility for examining asylum claims remains with the country of first entry and speeds up the transfer of Dublin cases to the competent countries, but it also broadens the exceptions that can shift responsibility to another state, such as family ties.
