Judge blocks return of three asylum seekers to Italy
The court finds that their fundamental rights are currently insufficiently protected if they are transferred to Italy.
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Three asylum seekers may not for the time being be transferred from the Netherlands to Italy. According to the court, the minister has not demonstrated that they would receive shelter, food and running water there.
The immigration chamber in Utrecht handed down judgments in three separate cases. The court upheld the appeals and ordered the Minister for Asylum and Migration to reassess the asylum applications. The judgments concern their current situation.
The essence of the ruling is that a transfer may take place only if the Netherlands can trust that the receiving member state respects fundamental rights. According to the court, these include the basic conditions for reception, such as shelter, food and access to running water.
In 2022, Italy announced that it could no longer take over asylum seekers from other EU countries because of problems with reception. In 2023, the Council of State ruled that transfers therefore posed a risk of violations of basic rights. The court now had to assess whether that situation had changed substantially.
According to the court, the introduction of the European Asylum and Migration Pact did not alter that starting point. Italy has indicated that it will implement the pact and cooperate with transfers, but according to the judgment the minister provided no information showing that the practical reception problems had been resolved.
Nor had reception places allegedly been reserved for people sent back from other member states. The court also refers to indications from the European Commission that transfers to Italy are still accompanied by problems. A political commitment regarding future implementation is therefore not enough, the judges say.
The ruling is not a general, definitive ban on every transfer to Italy. It does make clear, however, that each transfer must be assessed to determine whether reception conditions are actually adequate. Until this has been demonstrated, the Dutch authorities cannot apply the Dublin rules without further assessment.
The judgment touches on a broader European tension. The new rules are intended to distribute responsibility between member states and speed up transfers, while national courts remain obliged to assess concrete risks to human rights. The European Commission says that Italy is making progress, but that further practical steps are needed.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The court blocked transfers to Italy in three specific cases.
- The court found that the minister had provided insufficient evidence that reception conditions had improved.
- The European pact leaves the obligation to respect fundamental rights in place.
Left
Arguments Transfers must never be made more important than protection against inhuman treatment. If reception is structurally inadequate, the Netherlands must take responsibility for people who are already here.
Values Human dignity, legal protection and individual assessment.
Consequences A more careful procedure may delay transfers, but prevents people from disappearing between European systems.
Centre
Arguments European rules work only if member states can carry one another's responsibility and if judges can assess reliable guarantees. The solution lies in demonstrably better reception and practical agreements.
Values The rule of law, feasibility and European cooperation.
Consequences Temporary restrictions on transfers are defensible as long as Italy cannot demonstrate sufficient capacity; after that, the scheme must become workable again.
Right
Arguments The Netherlands must be able to implement the European division of responsibilities. If national courts repeatedly block transfers, pressure on reception in the Netherlands will remain and European agreements will lose their meaning.
Values Limits on national reception capacity, predictable government and enforcement of rules.
Consequences Without rapid improvement in Italy, more people will remain in the Netherlands and support for the European system may decline.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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The legal core and the described reason are directly based on the judgment of Rechtspraak. The European context was checked with the European Commission.
- confirmed The court blocked the transfer of asylum seekers to Italy in three cases. — Rechtspraak describes three judgments and upholds the appeals. source
- confirmed The court found that it had not been demonstrated that Italy could provide shelter, food and running water. — This is stated in the court's reasoning. source
- confirmed The Asylum and Migration Pact did not change the fundamental-rights obligations regarding reception. — The judgment explicitly states that the relevant fundamental rights continue to apply under the pact. source
- confirmed The European Commission sees progress in Italy, but says that further steps are needed for transfers. — The Commission writes that Italy is making efforts, but that concrete steps are still needed. source
Editor's note
It is certain that the court has provisionally blocked transfers to Italy in three cases. It remains uncertain how broadly the ruling will apply in comparable cases; it does not concern all transfers.Sources
- Asielzoekers mogen door minister niet aan Italië worden overgedragen — Rechtspraak
- Commission presents the assessment on the application of the new asylum responsibility rules — Europese Commissie
- Pact on Migration and Asylum — Europese Commissie
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „asiel italië”
- De Telegraaf — „asiel italië”
- AD — „asiel italië”