Dutch Asylum Minister appeals court ruling on Italy repatriation

Dutch Asylum Minister Bart van den Brink has filed an appeal against a ruling by the District Court of The Hague, which prohibited the repatriation of an asylum seeker to Italy. The court ruled that asylum seekers cannot be sent back to Italy because the country's reception facilities are deemed inadequate.

Under European agreements, asylum seekers are generally permitted to be returned to the first EU country in which they registered. While the Dutch government recently reached agreements with Italy and Greece to ensure proper reception conditions for such returns, the court maintained that current conditions do not meet the required standards.

Minister van den Brink is invoking the ‘principle of trust’ (vertrouwensbeginsel), arguing that the Netherlands should be able to rely on the Italian government's assurances and reports from the European Commission stating that Italy has sufficient reception capacity.

The ruling has drawn criticism from a broad coalition in the Dutch House of Representatives, including members from the CDA, ChristenUnie, VVD, PVV, and others. Lawmakers expressed concern that the ruling creates a “perverse incentive” for EU nations to maintain poor reception standards to avoid being required to accept asylum seekers.