The EU Commission presents the list of safe countries of origin | Luxembourg word

In the effort for faster asylum procedures, the European Commission proposed a list of safe countries of origin. The Brussels authority said that applicants from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia should become faster. The EU Parliament and the Member States still have to agree.

In addition, Member States should be possible earlier than previously planned to determine their own countries of origin, for which accelerated procedures or procedures are allowed directly at the border. The Commission provides for this possibility if an average of 20 percent or less of the applications from the relevant country are accepted.

Judgment at the ECJ is still pending

EU countries already have their own lists with safe countries of origin. In Germany, in addition to the EU member states, this also includes the Western Balkans countries as well as Georgia, Ghana, Moldau and Senegal. The criteria according to which safe countries of origin can be determined is currently the subject of a procedure at the European Court of Justice. A judgment will be expected in the coming months.

An EU-wide list could continue to standardize procedures, but does not automatically mean more deportation. Among other things, standardization could lead to the deadlines for objection and complaints for applicants from these countries after a rejected application for asylum, so that their procedure is concluded faster.

Commission: EU accession candidates are also certain

As the Commission continued to say, exceptions should also be possible for states that are declared safely – for example for migrants from certain social groups or regions. According to the Commission, EU accession candidates also generally meet the criteria for safe countries of origin. Exceptions are also possible here.

The Member States had repeatedly asked the Commission to present a list of safe member states. As early as 2023, the European Council advocated greater use of the concept of secure countries of origin in order to accelerate asylum procedures. However, critics warn that the security situation in some affected countries could not be sufficiently checked.