EU agrees on list of safe countries to speed up deportations of migrants
The European Union has reached a compromise on the creation of the first pan-European list of so-called safe countries of origin, which will allow for faster deportation of migrants who have not been granted asylum. The agreement was reached by representatives of EU governments and the European Parliament. This is reported by The Public with reference to DPA.
The initial list includes Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Kosovo, Colombia, India, and Bangladesh. The basic principle also stipulates that countries that are candidates for EU membership will be automatically considered safe. These include Albania, Montenegro and Turkey.
At the same time, exceptions are provided. The safe status may be temporarily cancelled if the country is subject to EU sanctions or an armed conflict breaks out. The situation will be monitored by the European Commission, which will be able to respond promptly to deteriorating conditions.
The single list will be legally binding for all EU member states. At the same time, each asylum application will continue to be considered individually. There will be no automatic deportation, but applications from safe countries will be considered on an expedited basis.
For comparison, Germany already has its own list of safe countries. Only Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro are currently listed in German law from the new European list.
The agreement still needs to be formally approved by the European Parliament and EU countries, but usually such decisions are of a technical nature after a political compromise is reached.
Photo: DPA
