The European Union has unveiled a new list of seven countries it now classifies as “safe countries of origin” — a move aimed at accelerating the deportation of migrants and expediting asylum procedures for applicants from these nations.
The countries named are Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia. The designation means asylum applications from citizens of these states can be processed more swiftly, as there will now be a general assumption that such claims lack sufficient grounds for asylum.
EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner said the measure is designed to address the mounting backlog of asylum requests across member states. “Faster decision-making is essential,” he noted.
This latest move comes amid increasing political pressure on Brussels to tighten migration controls, especially in the wake of rising support for far-right parties across several EU nations.
The Commission clarified that countries seeking EU membership would generally meet the criteria for being considered “safe,” though exceptions will apply in cases of conflict, such as Ukraine.
While some EU states already maintain national lists of safe countries — like France, which includes Mongolia, Serbia, and Cape Verde — the new EU-wide list seeks to establish a common framework. Members will be able to add countries to the list but not remove them.
Despite the policy shift, individual asylum applications will still undergo case-by-case evaluations to ensure procedural safeguards are upheld and applicants are not rejected without due assessment.
The initiative, however, has drawn strong criticism from human rights organisations. EuroMed Rights, a regional rights coalition, warned that some of the designated countries have documented histories of human rights violations and offer limited protection for both citizens and migrants. Labeling them “safe,” the group said, is both “misleading and dangerous.”
Before taking effect, the proposal must be approved by the European Parliament and the EU Council.
The announcement follows recent EU border agency figures showing a 38% drop in irregular crossings last year to 239,000, after a surge in 2023. However, EU leaders — particularly from Italy, Denmark, and the Netherlands — have been pushing for stronger and faster deportation measures.
Currently, fewer than one in five people ordered to leave the EU are successfully returned to their country of origin. In response, the European Commission last month proposed reforms to create a more efficient return system, including potential migrant processing centres outside EU territory.
Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi praised the development as a “success for the Italian government.”
