EU Proposes List of Safe Countries for Faster Migrant Returns

The EU has released a list of countries it proposes be labeled as “safe countries of origin” by the bloc, meaning that citizens from those countries should not be broadly granted international protection.

Should this proposal be approved, asylum applications from citizens of those countries will be considered under a fast-track procedure, and with a presumption that said application is without merit, moving to quicker decisions and resulting deportations.

The countries on the list are Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia.

“Many member states are facing a significant backlog of asylum applications, so anything we can do now to support faster asylum decisions is essential,” stated Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration.

The European Commission proposed a different set of “safe countries of origin” in 2015– Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The proposal was similarly intended to “fast-track asylum applications from citizens of these countries.” This unified list was never passed, particularly due to disagreements regarding whether to include Turkey. 

However several EU member states have their own lists of “safe countries of origin” applied in their national asylum procedures. Greece passed legislation first in 2019 naming a list of “safe countries of origin” that has since shifted throughout the years. The list currently includes Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Bangladesh, Benin, Egypt, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, India, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Togo, and Tunisia.

In March, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized Greece’s focus on returns speaking outside the EU Summit, “We adopted a strict but fair policy focused on guarding our external borders. At the time, few supported this approach — now it’s broadly accepted,” he stated. 

The EU’s proposal of implementing a list of “safe countries of origin” has already been critiqued by human rights groups. “This practice significantly undermines the prospects for persons in need of  international protection to actually receive it in the EU. For asylum seekers to secure international protection,” wrote human rights group Euromed Rights in a statement. “It places a greater burden of proof on applicants and subjects them to expedited procedures that may violate their rights as outlined in the Refugee Convention. This includes their entitlement to a fair and efficient asylum process.”  

For the European Union proposal to take effect, it must be approved both by the European Parliament and the member states of the European Union.