The EU has identified seven countries of origin that countries consider safe as part of a proposal to speed up asylum applications, especially from relevant countries.
Citizens from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia will all make quick claims within three months, assuming they may fail.
Markus Lammert of the European Commission said it would be a “dynamic list” that could be expanded or reviewed and would be suspended or deleted if it is no longer considered safe.
Ever since EU countries poured into irregular immigration in 2015-16, they have been seeking reforms to asylum rules.
A deal on migration and asylum was reached last year, but the EU said it would not take effect until June 2026 and it wanted to push for two key rules on accelerated processing.
EU leaders last year called on the commission to propose plans to accelerate immigration returns, as EU data suggests that less than 20% of people ordered to leave were sent back to their country of origin.
Under the plan, EU countries will be able to quickly track people from safe countries or countries protected by up to one-fifth of applicants.
European countries that join the EU as candidates will automatically be considered safe, although there may be exceptions, such as those in war (such as Ukraine).
Among the countries that are promoting reform, Italy has been a massive influx since 2015. Other countries, including Germany, have imposed border controls to limit irregular immigration.
Although Italy is one of several members that have designated security countries, it is believed that the agreed EU list will prevent asylum seekers from targeting those with looser regulations.
In recent years, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt have seen a large number of irregular immigrants leaving the coast and crossing the Mediterranean.
The list was welcomed by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called it a success in Rome, with Bangladesh, Egypt and Tunisia on the list in front of “pure ideological and political opposition.”
An Italian judge blocked Meloni’s bid to send Egyptian and Bangladesh immigrants to detention centres in Albania because the Roman government believed that their country was safe, but the European Court said they would not be considered safe if all of their regions and minorities were not.
Now, the new proposal will need approval from the European Parliament and EU member states, with some human rights groups expressing concern about the plan.
Euromed Rights – Human Rights Network – warns that marking these seven countries as safe is misleading and dangerous because they include “countries with abuse of rights and limited protections for their own citizens and immigrants.”
“We will not cut basic and human rights,” said Commission spokesman Markus Lammert. “Under EU law, member states must conduct a personal assessment of each asylum application in every case.”
