Germany halts deal to take in migrants arriving from Italy as numbers surge

The German government said it has stopped taking in migrants from Italy under a European voluntary solidarity plan, in what could shape up to be a new standoff over asylum seekers in the bloc. This comes as the Italian island of Lampedusa receives a record number of new arrivals.

Berlin has informed Rome of its decision to postpone its intake of migrants until further notice.

"Given the currently high migratory pressure on Germany, the ongoing suspension of Dublin transfers by some member states, including Italy, reinforces the major challenges Germany is currently facing in terms of its reception and accommodation capacity," said a spokesman for the interior ministry.

The voluntary scheme was aimed at easing pressure on the border nations of the European Union, which are often the first port of call for migrants.

Under the mechanism, Germany was due to receive 3,500 asylum seekers who had first sought refuge in Italy. But only 1,700 have reached Germany before Berlin decided to pause the intake.

Response to the Dublin agreement

Under the so-called Dublin procedure, irregular migrants should be registered in the EU country they first enter.

If they try to head to another nation in the bloc, they could be returned to their EU first port of call.

But Mediterranean countries like Italy have argued that the rules place an excessive burden on border nations, particularly since new arrivals often want to move on and live in other EU countries.

In response, Germany volunteered to take in asylum seekers, and over a million arrived, mainly from Syria and Iraq, between 2015-2016, before the arrival numbers began falling sharply.

But over the last year, authorities have recorded a big uptick in arrivals again.

Latest numbers provided by federal police show 15,100 irregular migrants arrived in August, up 40 percent from July's 10,714.  

• At least 41 migrants feared dead after boat capsizes near Tunisia

Meloni call for help

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday she was not surprised by Berlin's decision.

Her far-right party won elections a year ago on a promise to stop mass migration, and her government temporarily suspended the Dublin rules in December, pointing to "purely technical reasons" linked to over-worked reception centres or hotspots.

She repeated her call for more EU help, adding: "Our hotspots are full". adding that the issue of relocation was secondary.

"The question is stopping arrivals into Italy. I still don't see any concrete answers," Meloni said.

Lampedusa emergency

The number of migrants arriving in Italy after crossing on boats from North Africa has surged this year, at almost 124,000 since January. That's up from 65,500 during the same period in 2022, according to government data.

Many land on the island of Lampedusa, where the reception centre on Wednesday warned it was reaching critical capacity.

Some 7,000 migrants arrived in a span of just over 24 hours, a number that is a few hundred higher than the isle's full-time population.

The Italian Red Cross said more than 100 landings within a few hours left it hosting more than 6,000 people in a facility built for fewer than 400.

"The situation is difficult," the charity said, warning of the risk of passing a "critical threshold".

The authorities of Lampedusa, especially one of the mayors, Filippo Mannino, called for help.

Located just 145 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia, Lampedusa is one of the first points of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

(with newswires)