The European Commission has published the first European list of countries of origin considered safe. This means that migrants from these nations will have more difficulty obtaining a positive answer to a possible demand for political asylum in any of the EU states and will be more easily sent back.
The list establishes that these nations will be automatically considered safe by all the governments of the blockade, even if the latter will still have the opportunity to add other countries, however respecting the minimum standards set by Brussels. The Commission will maintain the right to contest any decisions.
Safe countries
The Commission proposes to establish a first EU list which, as anticipated, includes Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia. According to the European executive, the countries candidate for EU membership can, in principle, be designated as sure countries of origin, except “if specific conditions do not apply”. In short, it is an opening to countries such as Albania, with which Italy has signed a pact that led to the opening of detention centers for migrants on its territory.
Among the safe countries, therefore, Egypt and Bangladesh which instead had been considered “not safe” by the Court of Rome, which in recent months had not validated the detention of migrants brought to the Albanian center of Gjader, will also be considered, putting the decision to the next ruling of the European Court of Justice. The pronunciation now also becomes relevant for the list of the European Commission, given that the judges could give an opposite opinion, also because the provision has not yet entered into force.
Uniform definition
The designation of the countries of origin safe at the level of the Union should allow to overcome the differences between the national lists and guarantee a homogeneous application of the concept of “safe country” by all Member States. The common list will allow an accelerated procedure for examining asylum applications, based on the hypothesis that these requests have little probability of success. However, each question will still have to be taken into consideration.
However, the procedure can be carried out at the border or in transit areas, if the applicant comes from a country designated as sure, and should last a maximum of three months. Then the migrant can be sent back to his country of origin if he has obtained a rejection.
National autonomy
Member States will be able to continue to designate other third countries considered safely safely, other than those included in the EU list, but must respect minimum criteria. The Commission will maintain the power to contest these designations in cases where it believes that the status has been attributed incorrectly. Italy, for example, has a list of 19 countries deemed safe, from which it is possible to repatriate migrants: Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Morocco, Montenegro, Peru, Senegal, Serbia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
Speed up the times
At the same time as the publication of the list, Brussels proposed to anticipate the implementation of a rule provided for by the pact on migration and asylum, which should enter into force in 2026. This would allow to apply the accelerated procedure to people from countries where, on average, only 20 percent or less of applicants obtain international protection in the EU. The possibility of designating only some regions or specific categories within a country is also provided, offering the Member States greater flexibility.
However, the Commission’s proposal needs the green light of EU Council and European Parliament, and only then will become operational. It will depend on these two institutions, therefore this provision will come into force as soon as possible. The technical exam in the Council should already begin on April 24th.
Update list
The Commission’s proposal is based on an analysis of the EU agency for asylum and other sources, including information provided by the Member States, the UNHCR and the European service for external action. “The list of safe countries of origin can be expanded or revised over time. Countries can also be suspended or removed if they no longer satisfy the criteria”, underlines the Commission in a note.
It is also reiterated that “the designation as a safe country does not guarantee that all citizens of that country are safe”, and that therefore “Member States must however carry out an individual evaluation of each question”.
