The European dispute over the distribution of migrants has acquired a new dimension: More than 40,000 migrants are said to have been brought to Italian ports by NGO ships since Giorgia Meloni came to power. More than half of them are said to have arrived on ships linked to German organisations. At the same time, Germany is attempting to have Italy take back asylum seekers who have travelled further north. This is causing irritation in Rome.
Italy believes that Germany is funding NGOs to fill Italy with migrants. When these migrants make their way further north in Europe and arrive in Germany, Berlin attempts to send them back to Italy.
German dumping of migrants in Italy has become a point of contention
According to a review published this week, NGO ships have brought 42,338 migrants to Italian ports since October 2022 – when Giorgia Meloni took office as Italian prime minister. Of these, 22,513 – more than half – are said to have arrived on ships linked to German organisations.
German NGOs’ dumping of migrants in Italy has now become a point of contention between Rome and Berlin. The conflict is politically sensitive because several of the organisations operating the rescue ships have received significant financial support from the German state.
In 2023, Germany decided to fund both sea rescue operations and projects that assist migrants after they have been brought ashore in Italy. Among the organisations that received support were SOS Humanity, SOS Méditerranée, RESQSHIP and Sea-Eye. Italy’s then foreign minister Antonio Tajani reacted strongly to this:
– You cannot fund NGO ships that pick up migrants and bring them to Italy, Tajani said in 2023. He argued that if Germany funded such rescue operations, the country should take responsibility for the people who were rescued and not pay for them to remain in Italy.
Since Meloni came to power, German organisations have been behind the arrival of 22,513 of the 42,338 migrants brought to Italy by NGOs.https://t.co/hHBqS4cBs5
— The European Conservative (@EuroConOfficial) August 18, 2026
The German view is that this concerns humanitarian assistance and the rescue of people in distress at sea – not the organisation of migration to Italy, but in 2025 the new German government ended federal funding for civilian sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean. The annual support had amounted to around two million euros. This money was instead to be used for measures addressing the underlying causes of migration.
Disproportionate responsibility on Mediterranean countries
The conflict is further intensified by the fact that many migrants who first arrive in Italy continue their journey northwards – and Germany would prefer not to have to deal with them.
For years, Italy has criticised the Dublin system for placing a disproportionate responsibility on Mediterranean countries. When a migrant is registered in Italy and later turns up in Germany, Berlin can attempt to return that person to Italy.
🚨👉Deutsche NGOs lieferten 22.500 Migranten in Italien ab – jetzt stellt Rom Berlin die Rechnung👈❗️https://t.co/5E9I8pQgqS
— Marie (@kripp_m) August 20, 2026
This is causing political irritation: Rome feels that Italy is being turned into Europe’s reception centre and that other member states want to send people back there when they move onwards through Europe.
Libysk kystvakt åpnet ild mot norskregistrerte Ocean Viking i Middelhavet
