Italy guarantees Switzerland that it will examine Dublin asylum cases
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Switzerland is once again preparing to return asylum seekers to Italy.
At a technical level, Italy has provided written assurances that the cases will be examined, Daniel Bach of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said on the Heute Morgen programme of the Swiss public broadcaster SRF on Friday.
The first transfers are expected in the coming days or weeks and are currently being arranged, Bach said. “We are confident it will work this time.”
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Italy to resume accepting Dublin asylum cases from Switzerland
Last summer, Switzerland announced that it would resume returns under the Dublin Agreement from the end of August. At the time, the SEM said it expected Italy to cooperate.
However, the transfers never went ahead. Despite those assurances, Rome has yet to accept any Dublin cases, Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans told reporters on September 18. He described the situation as “still very difficult”.
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Transfers suspended
In December 2022, shortly after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office, Italy suspended all Dublin transfers of asylum seekers. These are separate from returns carried out under a bilateral readmission agreement.
Italy continues to honour that agreement, Jans said. Under its terms, Switzerland can return to Italy up to 15 people a day who have entered the country irregularly.
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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
