(de-news.net) – Reports indicate that Germany and Greece have reached a preliminary arrangement to resume, from June 2026, the systematic transfer of asylum seekers who first lodged applications in the two southern EU states before traveling onward to Germany. Media accounts state that Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt concluded the understanding during discussions held alongside the EU interior ministers’ meeting in Brussels. The arrangement concerns Dublin‑system cases whose transfers had long been stalled, as Italy and Greece had not been legally obliged to accept them.
Government sources noted that Dobrindt characterized the agreement as an important step toward implementing the EU’s forthcoming migration and asylum framework, expected to enter into force in 2026. The German government reportedly views itself as a central actor in the tightening of EU migration policy, seeking both to reinforce the operational stability of the common asylum system and to reduce irregular movements.
In return for renewed cooperation on returns, Greece and Italy are expected to receive enhanced external‑border protection and more efficient return procedures. Germany will also be exempted from certain obligations under the EU solidarity mechanism until mid‑2027, with both partner states acknowledging that Germany has taken in a disproportionately high number of refugees in recent years. The agreement forms part of a broader sequence of stricter national and EU‑level measures, including reinforced border controls and reforms of member‑state asylum legislation. According to media reports, Dobrindt presented these steps as a response to a decade of irregular migration within Europe.
EU interior ministers further decided that rejected asylum seekers must actively cooperate in their removal procedures, with non‑compliance potentially resulting in reduced benefits or detention. Plans were also outlined for repatriation centers in third countries for individuals who cannot be returned to their states of origin. Under the revised solidarity mechanism, member states facing significant migratory pressure may relocate asylum seekers to other EU countries. Germany would therefore be required either to accept a defined number of individuals annually or to provide financial compensation. Dobrindt argued that Germany could meet its 2026 obligations by offsetting several thousand cases based on past admissions, and EU institutions reportedly recognized Germany’s earlier contributions as substantial.
The agreement drew criticism from Social Democratic MEP Birgit Sippel, who warned that the emerging EU rules risked undermining the right to asylum. She called for more sustained engagement with countries of origin, arguing that their refusal to accept returns was unacceptable, and pointed to unresolved issues surrounding the proposed transfers of rejected applicants to third countries.
