Migrants, Sweden and Finland resume transfers to Italy

"Sweden has carried out transfers of migrants to Italy and we intend to continue to do so, in accordance with the provisions of the Pact on Immigration and Asylum": Victoria Holmqvist, spokesperson for the Swedish Minister for Migration Johan Forssell, told Ansa. “It is important that our collaboration works well so that migration to Europe is well managed and controlled,” the spokeswoman explained. "From the Swedish point of view - he added - this is not something new, but since the European pact came into force, transfers under the Dublin regulation work better".

Finland, in turn, believes that the entry into application of the new Regulation on the management of asylum and migration (Ammr) - which replaces the previous Dublin Regulation as part of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum - allows "the resumption of transfers of asylum seekers to Italy" and states that "the transfers are currently being prepared".

The Finnish Ministry of the Interior reported this to LaPresse regarding the transfer of asylum seekers to Italy, also underlining the importance that all member states respect their responsibilities within the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

"For Finland, it is important that the rules on responsibility for examining asylum applications are applied as intended and that all EU Member States respect their responsibilities under the Covenant. For our part, we remain committed to ensuring the effective implementation of the procedures relating to determining the responsible State," the Interior Ministry explained.

“We have continued our cooperation and dialogue with Italy over the years”, the ministry further stated, “we believe that the entry into application of the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (Ammr) allows the resumption of transfers to Italy and transfers to Italy are currently in the preparation phase”. At the moment, the ministry has not provided information on the overall number of people who could be affected by future transfers, nor has it specified whether the procedure will exclusively concern asylum seekers who arrived after 12 June, the date of entry into force of the new EU Pact, or even those already present previously.