Germany to relocate refugees from Italy: Italian interior minister

Refugees registered in Italy will be relocated in Germany starting from September, Italian media reported on Tuesday citing a top official.

"Today we received confirmation that refugees will be relocated from Italy to Germany hundreds per month, starting from September," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano told La Repubblica newspaper in an interview.

"If this project with Germany succeeds, we believe it might work with other European countries as well," Alfano added.

The refugee relocation system outlined last year by the European Union (EU) to evenly distribute refugees among member states has been a "flop" so far, the official complained.

Alfano claimed that this system was based on the two pillars of solidarity and responsibility, adding Italy had done its part including fingerprinting migrants and refugees who arrived to Italy, taking all the requested countermeasures, and setting up hotspots to identity and register arrivals.

"We were supposed to receive solidarity (from EU partners) in exchange, which would mean an equal distribution of refugees from Italy across Europe. Yet, this has not occurred," he said.

"Germany alone has welcomed more than one million people in 2015," Alfano recalled, "If it is able also to receive some of those currently in Italy, that would send a tremendous message (to other EU countries)."

In September last year, the EU Commission unveiled a refugee relocation plan aimed at distributing some 120,000 people from Italy, Greece, and Hungary across the bloc. Enditem