EU Council to Speed Up Rejection of Asylum Claims
These moves represent a critical step in executing the EU’s 2024 Pact on Migration and Asylum, particularly through reforms to the “safe third country” principle and the creation of the first EU-wide “safe countries of origin” list.
Under the Council’s revised interpretation of the “safe third country” concept, member states would have broader authority to dismiss asylum requests as inadmissible without fully evaluating their merits.
The updated framework introduces three distinct avenues for applying the safe third country rule. First, applicants no longer need a personal connection to the third country. Second, transit through the third country before arriving in the EU can trigger inadmissibility. Third, an agreement or arrangement ensuring the claim will be processed in a designated safe third country is permitted, though this does not apply to unaccompanied minors.
Applicants contesting inadmissibility under these rules would forfeit the automatic right to remain in the EU while their appeal is processed, although they can still request judicial permission to stay.
Danish Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund praised the Council’s position, arguing it helps counter what he described as “harmful incentives” in the current system.
“We have a very high influx of irregular migrants, and our European countries are under pressure,” he said.
“This shows that the current system creates unhealthy incentive structures and a strong pull-factor…I am happy that we have agreed on a general approach which allows member states to make agreements with safe third countries on asylum procession outside Europe,” Stoklund added.
In a related decision, the Council approved the EU’s inaugural list of safe countries of origin, aimed at streamlining asylum procedures for applicants considered at low risk of persecution.
The list, included in the new asylum procedure regulation under the migration and asylum pact, covers Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Morocco, Kosovo, India, and Tunisia. Applicants from these nations would face accelerated processing, which may take place at borders or transit zones.
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