An IMGlobalWealth.news Report
Europe’s attempt to repair its dysfunctional asylum system is producing an awkward early test for Italy. Several northern European countries have resumed, or are preparing to resume, transfers of asylum seekers to Italy, reopening a dispute over which state should take responsibility for people who move across the EU after arriving.
“Eurostat estimates that Italy received 24,152 requests in 2025 to assume responsibility for asylum cases, the highest figure in the EU. Germany received 16,519, Croatia 12,358, Spain 10,684 and Greece 10,113”
The change follows the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into application on June 12th. The package replaces the old Dublin III framework but preserves an important principle: in many cases, responsibility rests with the country through which an asylum seeker first entered the EU.
Under the new rules, that responsibility can persist for 20 months after an irregular border crossing, or 12 months where an applicant was disembarked following a search-and-rescue operation. Family connections and other criteria can, however, shift responsibility elsewhere. (Eur-Lex)
Italy had effectively halted incoming Dublin transfers in December 2022, citing insufficient reception capacity. Now Germany and Switzerland have moved to restart transfers, Austria has returned four asylum seekers and Sweden transferred one person on August 11th. Finland has also signalled that transfers should resume. (European Union Agency for Asylum)
The numbers explain Rome’s nervousness. Eurostat estimates that Italy received 24,152 requests in 2025 to assume responsibility for asylum cases, the highest figure in the EU. Germany received 16,519, Croatia 12,358, Spain 10,684 and Greece 10,113. Yet across the EU only 16,620 transfers were actually carried out from 111,708 outgoing requests. The gap illustrates one of Dublin’s central weaknesses: assigning responsibility proved considerably easier than physically transferring people. (European Commission)
There is another complication. Migration pressure is falling overall. First-time asylum applications across the EU dropped by 27% in 2025 to about 669,400. Italy nevertheless received 126,600 applications, second only to Spain, and accounted for roughly 19% of the EU total. (European Commission)
The new Pact is supposed to resolve precisely this tension. Border states must accept greater responsibility for arrivals, while other members are obliged to provide solidarity through relocations, financial contributions or other support.
Its first big test may therefore be less about migration numbers than political trust. Italy wants solidarity before accepting the full burden of first entry. Northern states want Italy to respect responsibility rules before solidarity becomes credible. Europe has rewritten Dublin’s machinery. Whether it has solved Dublin’s politics remains much less certain.
