Switzerland promises financial aid to help Italy house asylum seekers

David Lohmueller

The Alpine nation has pledged to make up to CHF20 million available to help Italy house asylum seekers.

Italy’s asylum policy was the main topic of discussions between Swiss Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi during a working visit in Rome on Wednesday. More than 45,000 people have arrived on Italian shores since the start of the year, over three times the number at the same time in 2022. 

Baume-Schneider announced that Switzerland is making up to CHF20 million (almost $22 million) available from the migration framework credit of Switzerland’s second contribution to certain EU Member to help Italy provide accommodation and care for asylum seekers, particularly unaccompanied minors.

The Swiss and Italian ministers agreed to sign the bilateral cooperation agreement required to implement this contribution. Along with Cyprus and Greece, Italy is the third country with which Switzerland has so far entered into such cooperation deal under the framework credit for migration.

+ How the Swiss asylum system works

Dublin debacle

Under the Dublin rules, Italy is responsible for asylum seekers who have first been registered on its territory. However, Italy announced as far back as last December that it would temporarily no longer take back asylum seekers whose applications fall within its jurisdiction under the Dublin Regulation. In April, Italy declared a state of emergency.

Since the transfers were suspended, the deadline for transferring 81 asylum seekers in Switzerland to Italy expired, forcing Switzerland to integrate them into its own national asylum procedure.

During the working visit, Baume-Schneider pointed out that Italy’s unilateral measure weakened the Dublin system and European asylum policy as a whole. Piantedosi responded that Italy is currently working to increase its accommodation capacity so that it can accept Dublin transfers again in the next few months, if the situation allows.