Following Germany, Switzerland has also announced it will transfer asylum seekers who entered the country after landing on Italian shores back to Italy.
Bern is thus preparing to fall in line with the new European framework on migrant management, despite the Confederation not being a member of the European Union. Switzerland does, however, belong to the Schengen area and takes part in the European asylum system.
The decision follows Germany’s move and could result in new transfers of migrants to Italy, which is considered the country of first entry for those concerned.
The issue of so-called secondary movements — the relocation of asylum seekers from their country of arrival to other European states — is thus back at the centre of the debate over migration management and the application of the new rules.
