European rules

Migrants: why Germany has reopened the Dublin case with Italia

The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which came into force on 12 June, confirms that the responsibility for processing asylum applications remains with the country of first entry

by Rome Editorial Staff

11 August 2026

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Migranti, Meloni e premier danese: "Non accettiamo immigrazione incontrollata"

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Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The New Pact
More effective transfers of ‘Dublin cases’
Compensation
Solidarity contributions
Assessments

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Ceuta crisis seems to have reopened Pandora’s box on the issue of immigration, which had been on the back burner in Europe for some time. And for Italia, the situation is becoming significantly more complicated. Because after the diplomatic crisis with Spain, a new front has opened up with Germany.

At the heart of the friction Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz lies the issue of the so-called ‘Dublin cases’, namely asylum seekers who landed on Italy’s shores and, rather than remaining on the peninsula, crossed the Alps and travelled to Germany. For years, the issue of secondary movements (that is, the passage to Germany of migrants who landed in Italia, referred to as ‘Dublin cases’ under the 2003 Dublin Regulation) has been at the centre of concerns for German centre-right politicians, who are now, more than ever, under pressure from the far-right AfD, which is rising in the polls.

This summer, the issue is becoming politically very sensitive, as both Meloni and Merz are heading into major elections: whilst Italy is heading towards a general election, in Germany there will be a vote on 6 September in Saxony-Anhalt, and on 20 September in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

To implement the German Chancellor has drawn on the new asylum rules adopted by Europe.

The New Pact

The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which came into force on 12 June following its adoption in December 2025, has introduced new rules for asylum seekers. The key element is the Regulation on the Management of Asylum and Migration (AMMR), which replaces the Dublin III Regulation but retains its fundamental principle, namely: responsibility for processing an asylum application lies with the country of first entry, except in cases involving family ties, visas or other specific criteria.

For a country of first arrival such as Italia, the obligation becomes more onerous because the period of responsibility for irregular entry increases from 12 to 20 months; however, it remains at 12 months for arrivals following search and rescue operations at sea. In summary, Italy’s responsibility lasts longer and, if the person goes into hiding, transfer remains possible for up to three years.

More effective transfers of ‘Dublin cases’

The new Pact aims to support countries of first arrival and to limit secondary movements towards Northern Europe. The transfer of ‘Dublin cases’ to the competent state will be speeded up: a notification via Eurodac is sufficient, and the receiving country cannot refuse, but may only propose different timelines or arrangements. Reception is guaranteed only in the Member State where the applicant is required to remain, whilst broader family-based criteria may transfer responsibility to another country.

Compensation

One of the most significant new developments, however, is the possibility of implementing ‘responsibility offsets’, that is, ‘compensation through the assumption of responsibility’. These are arrangements that allow a state to fulfil part of its solidarity obligations by taking on the examination of applications that would otherwise fall to the country of first entry. In essence, if Germany were to decide to examine the application of an applicant already present on its territory, thereby choosing not to transfer them to Italia, the country of first entry, this action would count as a solidarity contribution.

Solidarity contributions

The Pact combines responsibilities with a permanent solidarity mechanism. The EU Council has set the minimum annual threshold at 21,000 relocations or €420 million, equivalent to €20,000 for each relocation not carried out, to be shared amongst Member States on the basis of GDP and population. The recipient countries are Italia, Spain, Greece and Cyprus, countries defined for this year as being “under pressure” and therefore beneficiaries of the annual solidarity reserve.

The checks

The European Commission’s initial assessment of 15 July, carried out around a month after the new rules came into force, shows that Spain and Cyprus have passed the review, Greece remains under monitoring despite the progress made, whilst Italia was held back by its failure to resume transfers and its rejection of the first 12 requests. Rome had suspended the arrival of so-called ‘Dublin cases’ in December 2022, with the exception of family reunifications involving unaccompanied minors, and the relevant circulars have not been formally revoked. The next assessment is due by 15 October.