Italy agrees to start taking asylum seekers back from the Netherlands from next week
Asylum seekers traveling to the Netherlands via Italy will be sent back to that country starting next Friday, Minister Bart van den Brink of Asylum and Migration announced. He signed a letter of intent regarding this with his Italian counterpart, Minister Matteo Piantedosi of Interior.
The rules of the EU Dublin Convention state that asylum seekers must submit their application in the first country they arrive in. However, so many asylum seekers arrive in Italy that the country has not taken back any people who have traveled on to other Member States, such as the Netherlands, for years.
Van den Brink and Piantedosi agreed that Italy will start taking people from the Netherlands on June 12, when the European Migration Pact comes into force, the Dutch Minister said. The two countries are starting with a “clean slate,” meaning that Italy will only take back people who come to the Netherlands after June 12.
The Netherlands will also cooperate more closely with the Italians in facilitating the return of rejected asylum seekers and combating people smuggling in countries like Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.
Many people fleeing from the southern parts of Africa are smuggled through these North African countries. If they can be sent back to their home countries from there, they will not make the dangerous crossing to Europe, the Dutch Minister said.
“Cooperation with Italy is crucial for the Netherlands to get a better grip on migration,” Van den Brink said. “Migration does not stop at the Dutch or European border. Italy plays a key role because it controls a significant part of the European external border and has close relations with countries in North Africa.”
The Netherlands has similar agreements with Greece, the other country where many asylum seekers enter the EU.
