Overview
- Matteo Salvini, who said Saturday, announced that Italy will not accept migrants returned from Germany while German NGO rescue ships operate in the Mediterranean.
- Since the EU's new Asylum and Migration Pact took effect in mid-June, Italy has not returned any migrants to Germany and reports it has taken back only three people from partner countries this year.
- Italian officials point to maritime law on flag-state jurisdiction and a strained national reception system to justify rejecting transfers, and they say about 80,000 take-back requests have been refused since 2023.
- Rome has enforced measures against German rescue actors, detaining the Sea-Watch 5 for 45 days and fining Sea-Watch €4,500, and Italian and German interior ministers are reported to be planning talks to defuse the dispute.
- The standoff threatens practical implementation of the new EU asylum pact, could push Germany and other states toward tougher border measures or EU enforcement steps, and is reshaping migration politics in Italy ahead of next year’s vote.