Germany plans to continue accepting asylum seekers from Italy, it has announced Ministry of Interiorafter having stopped their reception process earlier this week.

THE German Interior Minister Nancy Fesser he said late yesterday, Friday night, speaking to the ARD television network, that the process of receiving asylum seekers was suspended earlier this week “because Italy has not shown a willingness to take people back under the provisions of the Dublin Regulation”.

This regulation provides that asylum seekers must – with few exceptions – lodge their asylum claims in the first EU country in which they are registered for the first time. Those who try to apply in another country may be sent back to their country of first registration.

“It is now clear, of course, that we will fulfill our obligation of solidarity,” Fezer said.

Germany had previously promised to take 3,500 asylum seekers from countries on the southern borders of Europe. So far, 1,700 asylum seekers have been transferred there through the so-called Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism so that their asylum claims can be processed in Germany. On Wednesday, Germany announced it would not accept more asylum seekers, in part because Italy is slow to take back migrants as it is required to do under the Dublin rules.