Germany refuses to welcome migrants from Italy. Berlin confirmed that it had suspended the “ voluntary European solidarity mechanism », a system providing for the care by northern countries of migrants arriving on the coasts of their southern neighbors to come to the aid of the latter. The decision of Berlin, which fought for this mechanism, can be explained by the lack of cooperation from the Italian government.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
This suspension “ until further notice » concerns the “ voluntary European solidarity mechanism » which organizes a relocation of asylum seekers from the country of arrival in the European Union (EU) to other voluntary Member States, in order to relieve States which are gateways to Europe.
10,000 migrants arriving on the southern coasts of Europe (Greece, Italy, Spain) were to be transferred to other countries on a voluntary basis thanks to this system. Up to 3,500 were to be supported by Germany. Half of this objective has been achieved, more than in other countries.
But for Berlin, this voluntary solidarity mechanism must go hand in hand with stricter control of illegal secondary migrations to Germany and enforcement Dublin rules. These provide that the country of arrival of a migrant must process their asylum application. If the person concerned goes to another European country, they must be able to be sent back to that competent country to manage their file.
Germany made 12,000 requests for referrals to Italy during the first eight months of the year, ten cases were accepted by Rome. Germany, faced with significant migratory pressure – already 200,000 asylum requests since the start of the year – regrets this lack of cooperation and is therefore stopping the voluntary reception of other migrants who have arrived in Italy. Despite everything, Germany is still advocating, within the framework of the reform of European asylum law, for a fairer distribution of migrants.
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