Zurich: Switzerland will begin returning some asylum seekers to Italy this month, nearly four years after Rome stopped accepting such transfers, Swiss authorities said Tuesday. 'The first flight bookings have been made,' Magdalena Baker, a spokesperson for Switzerland's State Secretariat for Migration, told Swiss media. 'The first transfers of asylum seekers to Italy are planned for the end of August.'

According to Anadolu Agency, Baker stated that the initial returns would involve only 'individual cases,' with planned transfers resuming gradually. She emphasized that it is in Switzerland's interest to arrange the resumption in a way that is manageable for both sides, ensuring the system functions sustainably without being overloaded. Italy halted the acceptance of all transfers of migrants covered by the EU's Dublin rules in December 2022, shortly after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office, citing strain on its reception system.

The Dublin regulation requires asylum seekers to apply for refugee status in the first European country they enter. Under these rules, Switzerland and other European states can send asylum seekers back to Italy if they can prove the applicants initially entered Europe through Italian territory.

The restart of transfers is expected to remain limited. Italian authorities reportedly want to accept only asylum seekers who entered other European countries after June 12, the date on which the EU's new Pact on Migration and Asylum became effective, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

Since late 2022, Italy should have taken back 3,784 asylum seekers from Switzerland under Dublin rules. However, due to Rome's refusal of the transfers, Switzerland processed the claims itself. Nearly 40% of those individuals have received protection in Switzerland, while more than 1,300 cases remain pending.