Germany will not be taking in migrants from Italy under a voluntary solidarity pact until further notice, the country’s interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The agreement would have seen Germany take in 3,500 asylum seekers who had first entered the EU in Italy. This was meant to alleviate the situation in Italy, which is one of the EU’s main entry points for migrants.

Germany took in 1,700 people before pausing the agreement.

Why has Germany suspended the solidarity pact?

The decision had been taken due to “the currently high migratory pressure on Germany,” a spokesperson for the interior ministry told German newspaper WELT.

This pressure is in part caused by Italy’s refusal to take back migrants from Germany in line with the so-called Dublin regulations, according to the ministry