close
Saturday May 24, 2025

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

By AFP
April 17, 2025
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 1, 2023.— Reuters
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 1, 2023.— Reuters

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.