EU lists seven ‘safe’ countries of origin, tightening asylum rules

BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union on Wednesday published a list of seven countries it considers “safe”, in a bid to speed up migrant returns by making it harder for citizens of those nations to claim asylum in the bloc.

The list -- which includes Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia -- would need to be approved by the bloc´s parliament and members before entering force.

The move, criticised by rights groups, is set to allow EU governments to process asylum applications filed from citizens of those countries more quickly -- by introducing a presumption that such claims lack merit.

“Many member states are facing a significant backlog of asylum applications, so anything we can do now to support faster asylum decisions is essential,” said Magnus Brunner, the EU´s commissioner for migration.

Brussels has been under pressure to clamp down on irregular arrivals and facilitate deportations, following a souring of public opinion on migration that has fuelled hard-right electoral gains in several countries.