BRUSSELS (AP) – Immigrants from Bangladesh, Colombia, Morocco and Tunisia are unlikely to grant asylum in Europe and should apply quickly so they can be sent home faster, the EU executive branch said Wednesday.
The European Commission said seven countries, including Egypt, India and Kosovo, should be designated as “safe third countries.” Applications for its citizens to conduct international protection in Europe will be completed within three months, rather than the usual six months.
Last year, more than 200,000 people from these countries applied for asylum.
A year ago, EU countries recognized the comprehensive reform of the group’s failed asylum system. The rules are designed to address the problem of more than one million migrants swept across Europe in 2015, with most fleeing the Syrian and Iraq wars.
However, the new rules will not enter force until at least June 2026, and the Commission is eager to speed up the process, including deporting people faster to ease pressure on immigration reception facilities.
“Many member states face a significant backlog of asylum applications, so it is crucial that anything we can do now to support faster asylum decisions,” said EU Immigration Commissioner Magnus Brunner.
Brenner said the committee’s proposal “can help Member States handle claims faster”. He insisted that each applicant would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and “reviewed by the national court” so that people could appeal.
The plan must be recognized by EU member states and the European Parliament before it can enter force.
Under IT, asylum applications from candidates who join the EU, Bosnia, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey will also be quickly tracked.
Most importantly, EU members can speed up lawsuits from people from countries where 20% or fewer applicants are granted international protection in Europe. The so-called recognition rate for the seven “security third countries” is 5% or less.
