Today, the Commission proposes to speed up the implementation of certain aspects of the Migration and Asylum Pact. This Pact was adopted last year and will take effect in June 2026. The Commission suggests frontloading two key elements of the Asylum Procedure Regulation to aid Member States in processing asylum claims faster and more efficiently, especially for those likely unfounded.
Additionally, the Commission proposes utilizing a novelty of the Pact: an EU list of safe countries of origin, whose nationals can have their applications processed in an accelerated or border procedure.
Advancing key elements of the Pact: The Commission proposes applying two important rules before the Pacts enforcement next June, including:
- 20% recognition rate threshold: Member States can apply the border or accelerated procedure to people from countries where, on average, 20% or fewer applicants are granted international protection in the EU.
- Safe third countries and safe countries of origin can be designated with exceptions, allowing Member States more flexibility by excluding specific regions or clearly identifiable categories of individuals.
The Commission also proposes establishing a first EU list of safe countries of origin. Some Member States already have national lists. An EU list will complement these and ensure a more uniform application of the concept, allowing Member States to process asylum claims of nationals from countries on the list in an accelerated procedure, given their claims are unlikely to be successful.
The Commission proposes listing Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia on the first EU list.
The Commission also considers that EU candidate countries generally meet the criteria to be designated as safe countries of origin since they work towards the stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and the protection of minorities as part of their EU membership path. A candidate country would only be excluded under specific circumstances: indiscriminate violence in conflict situations, sanctions adopted by the Council against that country, or an EU-wide recognition rate of asylum applicants higher than 20%.
The Commissions proposal is based on an analysis from the EU Agency for Asylum and other sources, including information from Member States, UNHCR, and the EEAS.
The EU list of safe countries of origin can be expanded or reviewed over time. Countries can also be suspended or removed from the list if they no longer meet the criteria for being designated as a safe country of origin.
The designation as a safe country of origin does not guarantee safety for all nationals of that country. Member States must conduct an individual assessment of each asylum application, regardless of whether a person comes from a safe country of origin.
Next steps
It is now up to the European Parliament and the Council to decide on this proposal.
Background
As part of its efforts to implement the Pact, the Commission supports Member States in identifying areas where work can be frontloaded to accelerate certain aspects of the Pact, enhancing the efficiency of our asylum system.
The assessment of whether a third country is a safe country of origin according to the Asylum Procedure Regulation was based on a series of exchanges with Member States, the EUAA, the European External Action Service, as well as the UNHCR, and other stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations.
The EUAA developed a methodology to support the identification of safe countries of origin, considering countries of origin from which a significant asylum caseload is brought to the EU. This includes EU candidate countries; countries of origin with an EU-wide recognition rate of 5% or lower that generate a significant asylum caseload in the EU; visa-free countries with an EU-wide recognition rate of 5% or lower that generate a significant asylum caseload in the EU; and countries already featured in existing Member States lists of safe countries of origin.
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