- Italy rejected all twelve transfer requests during the initial weeks of the new European Union asylum system.
- The European Commission warned that noncompliance could jeopardize access to crucial European Union solidarity measures.
- A broader assessment scheduled for October twenty twenty-six will determine if Italy resolves its operational barriers.
The European Commission said Italy rejected all 12 requests to take back asylum seekers during the opening weeks of the EU’s new responsibility system, finding that Italian authorities had not coordinated adequately with other member states to make the transfers happen.
The assessment, adopted July 16, 2026, examined the initial rollout of the Pact on Migration and Asylum after the new EU asylum system took effect on June 12, 2026. Italy received the requests between June 12 and July 7 and refused each one.
The finding has revived the dispute over Italy blocking return arrangements that existed under the former Dublin system. The Commission said the review was “very preliminary,” but warned that continued noncompliance could cost Italy access to EU solidarity measures.
The review covered the first implementation phase through July 10. Italy’s record stood out among the major countries assessed: Cyprus and Spain showed adequate cooperation, while Greece had begun addressing earlier problems.
“While Italy has made significant efforts to prepare for the implementation of the new rules, concrete steps are needed to ensure that transfers take place effectively.”
The European Commission also called on Rome to “Remove all remaining barriers as a matter of priority, including by ending practices that have hindered transfers, and ensure necessary operational cooperation with other member states.”
Rome faces a deadline before the next review
The agency scheduled a broader assessment for October 2026. Until then, Italy must show that it can organize the practical steps behind a transfer, including communication and logistics with the country sending the asylum seeker back.
The assessment found no evidence that Italian authorities had actively coordinated those arrangements with other member states. That gap left the refusal pattern unresolved even after the new rules replaced Dublin.
Italy’s possible loss of solidarity rights would affect the balance built into the pact. The mechanism links responsibility to border states with assistance from countries elsewhere in the bloc. That assistance can include financial support or accepting relocated asylum seekers.
The 2026 solidarity pool is intended to relocate approximately 21,000 asylum seekers across the European Union. Greece and Italy are eligible for that system, although the Commission warned that Italy’s refusal to accept transfers could jeopardize its access to the support.
The new framework therefore creates pressure in both directions. Border countries must process and take back people for whom they are responsible. Inland countries must provide assistance or accept relocations.
Italy’s refusals began before the new system settled in
Italian authorities have suspended take-back requests for years under the former Dublin III Regulation, citing limited reception capacity. On March 5, 2026, the European Court of Justice ruled in case C-458/24 (Daraa) that Italy could not release itself from those responsibilities through a unilateral announcement.
The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation replaced Dublin on June 12. Its aim was to formalize the balance between responsibility and solidarity rather than leave each country to set its own position on returns.
The first review now shows that the legal change has not immediately produced operational compliance. Italy refused the 12 requests covered by the assessment, despite the court ruling and the pact’s entry into force.
Germany was part of the broader concern, although no new Italy-Germany Dublin cases had triggered the new rules during those first three weeks. The Commission nevertheless said Italy was blocking returns from Germany and other member states generally.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt had already linked the dispute to Berlin’s border policy. On June 3, 2026, he ruled out a rapid lifting of German border controls and said:
“Controls are a visible sign of a shift in Berlin’s policy. we have agreed with Italy that they will take back migrants, but implementation remains sobering.”
Switzerland estimated 1,200 potential returns in June 2026. The refusal pattern can leave people in a responsibility vacuum when they move from Italy to countries such as Germany or Switzerland.
If Italy refuses a transfer and the six-month deadline expires, responsibility shifts by default to the country hosting the asylum seeker. That can extend the processing of the claim rather than resolve which country should handle it.
Italy is carrying the bloc’s largest recent asylum load
The operational dispute is unfolding while Italy handles a heavy arrival and registration burden. It received 9,710 first-time asylum applicants in April 2026, the highest total in the EU that month, ahead of France and Spain.
Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi previously described the June 12 pact as a “success for the Italian government.” He said it validated Italy’s approach to offshore processing, including the Italy-Albania protocol.
That approach has also influenced a wider European debate. A group of 19 EU states, led by the Netherlands and Denmark, is pushing for “return hubs” in non-EU countries to hold and process rejected asylum seekers. Italy pioneered a version of that model with Albania.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, facing what was described as an “asylum crisis,” joined Denmark and Germany in asking the Commission to provide financial backing for external return hubs by the end of 2026.
The hub debate carries its own legal concerns. Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, wrote to Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands in letters dated July 8, 2026, published July 15. He warned of “considerable human rights risks” in their plans and proposed four “guardrails” for protecting deportees.
The Council of Europe has also warned that using “coercion by misery,” meaning precarious living conditions intended to encourage “voluntary” returns, could breach the Refugee Convention in places including Cyprus and Italy.
October will test whether refusals were an opening-phase failure
The Commission’s initial review does not close the dispute. It establishes a first record: 12 requests, 12 refusals, and no evidence of active logistical coordination by Italian authorities during the period examined.
The next assessment in October will examine whether Rome has removed the barriers identified in July. It will also show whether the new responsibility rules can operate when a border state disputes its obligation to receive people back.
For now, Italy’s access to the solidarity pool remains tied to the same system it has resisted implementing. The Commission’s warning puts that support at risk if transfers continue to fail.
