Germany and Italy want to coordinate more closely on migration following recent disagreements over the handling of migrants, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Wednesday.
Following a phone call with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Tajani said the focus of talks between Rome and Berlin was now on migration.
Both sides agreed on "the need to ensure maximum protection of Europe's external borders," Tajani said in a post on X.
He did not comment on disagreements over whether Italy must take back asylum seekers who entered the European Union through Italy and then travelled on to Germany.
Germany wants to return such migrants to Italy under existing EU rules, but the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has so far refused to accept them.
The dispute centres on the Dublin Regulation, under which migrants are generally required to apply for asylum in the first EU country they enter. In practice, however, this rule is often circumvented.
Italy has refused to take back asylum seekers from Germany under the Dublin rules since 2022, arguing that its national reception system is completely overwhelmed. A new EU asylum system has been in place since mid-June.
Rome is continuing to refuse to take back cases dating from before the new system came into effect.
According to Italian media reports, a woman who arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in March and then travelled on to Germany was due to be transferred back to Italy for the first time on Wednesday. The transfer did not take place.
Members of Meloni's coalition have also called for some form of compensation, arguing that German-flagged rescue ships bring migrants who set out across the Mediterranean to Italy.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi put the number of such migrants since the start of the year at 2,200, including 500 since the new EU migration and asylum pact came into force.
According to Italian media reports, Piantedosi and German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are also expected to hold talks in the coming days.