Germany is set to resume transferring asylum seekers to Italy, with the first return — a 22-year-old Somali woman — scheduled for 19 August, marking a hardening of Berlin's migration stance under Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The woman, Abdirisaq Warsame, arrived in Germany in March after transiting Italy and was notified in June of her pending transfer. The German interior ministry deemed her Italy's responsibility under Dublin rules; Italian authorities' failure to respond within two weeks was treated as acceptance. Berlin expects transfers to Italy and Greece to resume following the 12 June entry into force of the EU's Pact on Migration and Asylum, which tightens procedures for asylum seekers who move between member states without authorisation.
Rome disputes the legal basis. Italian interior ministry sources say no Dublin migrants need be readmitted from Germany, arguing pre-June cases were settled through prior agreements and that post-June arrivals aboard NGO vessels warrant a compensation mechanism. The dispute comes ahead of German state elections in September.