Asylum procedure: EU partners only accept “Dublin” returnees to a limited extent

Several EU partner states are leaving Germany hanging when it comes to taking back refugees according to the so-called Dublin procedure. For example, Italy only took back three asylum seekers in 2024, although the country agreed to take back more than 10,000 people based on the Dublin regulations, as the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) announced in Nuremberg. “Bild” first reported.

According to figures, only 22 people were transferred to Greece last year. Croatia and Bulgaria have also only taken in a fraction of the people they would have had to take back under the Dublin rules.

The Dublin procedure is part of the common European asylum system. One of the regulations states that in many cases the state in which the refugee first set foot on EU soil is responsible for handling the asylum procedure. If the refugees travel further to other EU countries and apply for asylum there – which often happens in Germany – the country of first entry must take the people back under certain conditions.

However, these regulations are often circumvented in practice. Countries like Italy often agree to the return in accordance with the regulations, but then impose conditions for the actual return that are difficult to meet in practice – for example with regard to return times or certain airports.

Other countries such as Greece often reject the withdrawal during the process. According to Bamf, Greece rejected 14,930 of Germany’s 15,453 requests last year. Italy, on the other hand, agreed to take them back in 10,402 cases, but actually hardly accepted anyone.

However, the actual numbers of withdrawals in all other countries are also significantly smaller than the number of approvals – which suggests that some of the problems also lie in Germany. For example, the immigration authorities often fail to find people waiting to leave the country at their accommodation – they then miss their flights. According to local politicians, the six-month period within which the Dublin regulations take effect often elapses.