The European Union has singled out seven nations that it regards as safe countries of origin in proposals to accelerate asylum claims, particularly from those nations.
Targeted Nations for Speedy Processing
People from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia would all have their applications processed at a fast-track pace within three months on the basis that they were likely to be rejected.
Markus Lammert of the European Commission stated that it would be a “dynamic list” which could be extended or updated, with states suspended or taken off if no longer regarded as safe.
Push for Asylum Reform Since 2015-16 Crisis
Since EU nations experienced a surge in irregular migrants during 2015-16, they have tried to overhaul asylum rules.
An agreement on asylum and migration was reached last year, but the EU argues as it does not enter into force until June 2026 it wishes to steamroll through two fundamental regulations on speeding up processing.
Low Return Rates Prompt Urgent Action
EU leaders asked the Commission a year ago to produce plans for speeding up returns of migrants, as EU statistics indicated fewer than 20% of individuals ordered to depart were returned to their countries of origin.
In the plans, EU nations would be permitted to expedite individuals traveling either from safe countries or nations where a maximum of one in five asylum applicants are granted protection.
EU candidate countries would be deemed automatically safe, except where exceptions can be made such as for nations engaged in war like Ukraine.
Italy Among Nations Pushing for Reform
Some of the countries advocating for change included Italy, which experienced a large surge since 2015. Other nations like Germany have introduced controls on borders as a way to contain irregular migration.
While Italy is one of a number of member states that already possess identified safe countries, an agreed EU list is considered to discourage asylum seekers from focusing on those with more relaxed conditions.
North African Nations See High Migrant Numbers
Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt all experienced high numbers of irregular migrants embarking from their coasts to enter the Mediterranean in recent years.
The list has been greeted by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi welcomed it as a victory for Rome that Bangladesh, Egypt and Tunisia were included in the list, despite “purely ideological political opposition”.
Legal Challenges to ‘Safe Country’ Designation
Italian judges thwarted Meloni’s attempt to send Egyptian and Bangladeshi migrants to Albanian detention centers, since although the Rome government considered their countries safe, the European Court of Justice stated that they could not be regarded as safe if all their territories and vulnerable populations were not.
The new proposals will now need to be approved by both the European Parliament and EU member states, and some human rights groups have expressed concern about the plans.
Rights Groups Challenge Safety Designation
EuroMed Rights – a network of human rights organisations – warned that it was misleading and dangerous to label the seven countries as safe, because they included “countries with documented rights abuses and limited protections for both their own citizens and migrants”.
“We do not cut back on fundamental and human rights,” said Commission spokesman Markus Lammert. “Under EU law member states have to carry out individual assessments of each asylum application in each individual case.”
