Following Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Finland, Sweden announced its intention to return migrants subject to the Dublin Regulation to Italy. France and Spain, however, chose not to follow this path, creating a rift within the European Union.
Pressure is mounting on Rome. Stockholm has confirmed its intention to "apply the rules as defined" in the new EU pact on asylum and migration, which entered into force on June 12, and expects "all member states to respect their obligations," including Italy. Sweden thus joins a united front already formed by Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Finland.
The figures illustrate the scale of the issue. According to Eurostat, 109,427 transfer requests were submitted to Rome between 2023 and 2025. In 2025 alone, Italy received the most requests, with over 24,000. Of these, approximately 14,000 originated from Germany and France and would be neutralized by an agreement signed by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi with the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Council at the end of 2025. Some 10,000 requests remain pending, primarily from Switzerland (3,612), Belgium (1,531), Austria (644), and Finland (520).
Austria has already taken action, stating that it has returned four people to Italy since the pact came into force. Rome, for its part, unilaterally suspended transfers at the end of 2022, despite a 2024 decision reiterating that a member state cannot evade its obligations if it is able to guarantee dignified reception conditions. The European Commission notes that Italy rejected 12 transfers between June 12 and July 7, while the pact specifies that "a host member state may not refuse a transfer."
Faced with this northern front, France and Spain are adopting different stances. Paris has decided "not to join the countries" that are returning migrants to Italy, at least "as long as this phase of cooperation and rapprochement" with Rome lasts, according to well-informed sources. The two countries, these same sources specify, "share the desire to work towards reducing the flow of migrants from Tunisia and Libya." Madrid, for its part, says it is "in favor" of managing the situation through the European solidarity mechanisms provided for by the Pact, "rather than resorting to expulsions or isolated bilateral restrictions," according to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. The question of the suspension of the Schengen Area at the Spanish border, linked to the Ceuta crisis and maintained until August 31, nevertheless remains unresolved.
The new pact has also extended the period of responsibility of the first country of arrival to 20 months, compared to 12 months previously. It also stipulates that the vast majority of asylum applications must be processed within 12 weeks. A first assessment by the European Commission is expected in mid-October.
The controversy quickly ignited in Italy. The leader of the Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, saw it as a "spectacular boomerang effect of Giorgia Meloni's PR stunt," accusing the Prime Minister of having "never fought the most important battle in Brussels: the fight for European solidarity." Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (Five Star Movement) mocked Meloni's "masterpiece": "Repatriations are working, but against us." Carlo Fidanza, head of the Brothers of Italy delegation to the European Parliament, downplayed the issue, stating that "the matter concerns only a small number of cases" and that "for those who entered after June 12, the number of potential relocations will decrease significantly."
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