Current tensions between Italy and Germany revolve around migrants known as "Dubliners": those who were registered in the country of first arrival (in this case, Italy), and then continued on to other countries in the European Union to apply for asylum. While the main secondary country after Italy is Germany, other asylum seekers have traveled to France, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands to apply for asylum.
The regulation that stipulates the legal procedure for handling these migrants is known as the Dublin Regulation (604/2013), which defines the "criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or a stateless person."
What the Dublin Regulation stipulates
The text of the Dublin Regulation specifies that once migrants have been traced and identified in any EU Member State, they can be sent back to the country where they first arrived in Europe.The country of first entrance is the one that is expected to evaluate any asylum request and to take on the responsibility for hosting the asylum applicant until a final decision on asylum is reached.
In recent years Italy and Germany have established a practice, without any ratified agreement on a political level, in which Germany can send back a maximum of 50 "Dubliners" each month to Italy, on two flights. However, thus far in 2018, an average of 25 migrants have been sent back to Italy. The migrants board small aircraft that Germany calls "dedicated", with police officers on board as well. Flights are currently planned until the end of November.
The agreement between Italy and Germany
In recent months, Germany has tried to make an agreement with the Italian government, similar to ones it made with Greece and Spain, that provides specific rules for secondary expulsions. However, the Italian government, and in particular Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, has continually rejected proposals by German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. "I'll only sign if, for Italy, there isn't one more migrant," Salvini said on September 10. The agreement never came, despite the fact that on September 15 Seehofer said he was still "optimistic".
The Dublin Regulation also stipulates that Member States wishing to send back migrants to the country of first arrival have six months to complete all the procedures. If this 180-day period expires before the identification procedures are completed, or if the migrant does not respond when convened by authorities, the secondary country is required to retain the migrant.