The European Union's classification of Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia as safe countries aims to accelerate asylum applications, particularly for migrants from these nations.
**EU Designates Seven Countries as Safe to Expedite Asylum Processes**
**EU Designates Seven Countries as Safe to Expedite Asylum Processes**
In a move to streamline the asylum application process, the EU has identified seven countries as "safe," allowing expedited handling of asylum claims.
In a significant policy shift, the European Union announced that it would categorize seven countries as "safe" origins for asylum seekers, enabling a quicker resolution of applications. The nations identified are Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia. As a result, asylum claims from citizens of these countries will be processed within three months, typically under the expectation of a low likelihood of success.
Markus Lammert, a representative from the European Commission, commented that this list would remain subject to change, allowing for countries to be added or removed based on their current safety status. This measure aligns with the EU's broader efforts to reform and expedite asylum processes, particularly following the migrant surge experienced in 2015-2016. The recent agreement on migration and asylum, set to take effect in June 2026, has spurred officials to implement immediate measures to facilitate faster returns for migrants.
Under the new framework, individuals arriving from designated safe countries will be prioritized, while those from nations where asylum grants rate at one in five can also be fast-tracked. As part of this initiative, EU candidate countries will generally be assumed safe, although exceptions may apply for nations engaged in conflict, like Ukraine. This push for reform has garnered particular support from Italy, which has faced substantial migration pressures since 2015. Countries like Germany have also implemented stricter border controls to combat irregular migration.
The designation of Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt is particularly notable, given the recent waves of irregular migrants departing these countries. Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Italian government hailed the decision, with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi celebrating the inclusion of Bangladesh, Egypt, and Tunisia against ideological opposition.
However, the process has encountered legal challenges, as the European Court of Justice ruled that Egypt and Bangladesh cannot be labeled as safe, emphasising that safety must be evaluated based on regional stability and minority rights.
The revised plans are set to undergo scrutiny from both the European Parliament and member states, with some human rights organizations raising alarms about the potential implications of declaring these nations as safe. EuroMed Rights articulated that this designation could be misleading due to documented human rights abuses and insufficient protections for migrants and citizens alike. Despite these concerns, Commission spokesperson Lammert reassured that EU law mandates that each asylum case must undergo individual assessments to uphold human rights standards.
