EU States Fail to Act on Agreed Migrant Transfers Under Dublin Rules

Germany's 2024 efforts to return asylum seekers faced systemic obstacles, with only a fraction of approved cases resulting in actual transfers.

Germany filed over 50,000 transfer requests in 2024 under the EU's Dublin Regulation, which mandates asylum seekers apply in their first point of entry within the EU.
Despite Italy agreeing to accept 10,402 migrants, only three individuals were actually transferred back from Germany.
Similar challenges occurred with other EU nations: Greece accepted 22 out of 15,453 requests, and Bulgaria transferred 290 out of 8,090 approved cases.
Delays and logistical barriers, including missed deadlines and unfeasible conditions set by receiving countries, hindered the implementation of the agreements.
The stark disparity between approvals and actual transfers has reignited political calls within Germany for stricter border controls and a reevaluation of migration policies.