The European Union has named seven nations as safe places of origin as part of efforts to expedite asylum applications, particularly from those countries concerned.
Citizens from Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia would all have their claims expedited within three months, assuming that they were likely to fail.
Markus Lammert of the European Commission stated that it would be a “dynamic list” that could be enlarged or reviewed, with nations suspended or deleted if they were no longer deemed safe.
Since the wave of irregular migrants in 2015-16, EU nations have attempted to change asylum policies.
A migration and asylum deal was agreed last year, but the EU says that because it will not go into force until June 2026, it wants to impose two critical steps to speed up processing.
Last year, EU leaders encouraged the Commission to create ideas to expedite migrant returns, citing EU data that showed less than 20% of individuals ordered to leave were returned to their countries of origin.
According to the plans, EU nations would be able to expedite the process for persons arriving from safe countries or countries where a maximum of one in every five applicants is granted refuge.
European nations that are candidates to join the EU will be automatically regarded safe, while exceptions may be made for countries at war, such as Ukraine.
Italy, which has witnessed a significant increase in immigration since 2015, was one of the nations advocating for reform. Other nations, particularly Germany, have implemented border controls in an effort to reduce irregular migration.
Although certain member states, like Italy, have previously designated safe nations, it is believed that an agreed-upon EU list would dissuade asylum seekers from pursuing countries with looser restrictions.
In recent years, increasing numbers of illegal migrants have left Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt to cross the Mediterranean.
The list has been well received by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi praised Rome’s inclusion of Bangladesh, Egypt, and Tunisia on the list, despite “purely ideological political opposition”.
Italian justices denied Meloni’s request to send Egyptian and Bangladeshi refugees to Albanian detention centers because, while the Rome administration declared their nations secure, the European Court of Justice stated that they could not be considered safe if all of their areas and minorities were not.
The new measures must now be accepted by both the European Parliament and EU member states, and some human rights organizations have raised reservations about the plans.
Author: Abdul Ghani
