EU lawmakers approved changes to the European Union asylum system on Tuesday, paving the way for fast-track asylum rejections and the possible transfer of asylum seekers to countries with which they have little or no connection.
The move underlines the rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the European Union over the past decade that has broadened popular support for far-right parties.
The text, which requires final formal approval from the 27 EU member governments, marks a sharp hardening of EU migration policy that has taken shape since an influx of over a million refugees and migrants in 2015–16.
The move drew heavy criticism from humanitarian groups, who said it could lead to human rights violations and a diminution of asylum rights under a 1951 convention that prohibits returns of asylum seekers to countries where they could be in danger.
The European Parliament approved changes to the Asylum Procedures Regulation to introduce a list of countries deemed “safe” to which failed asylum seekers could be returned. The list includes countries such as Egypt and Tunisia whose human rights records have come under scrutiny.
Read moreEU moves closer to backing 'return hubs' for migrants: A right-wing turn on asylum policy
Protection in 'safe' country?
Under the new rules, EU countries may reject an asylum application if the person could have received protection in a country the bloc considers safe.
“Today’s vote will mean that people seeking asylum in the EU could have their applications rejected without review, and be sent to countries to which they have no connection and where they have never even set foot,” said Olivia Sundberg Diez, the EU advocate on migration and asylum at Amnesty International.
“These measures mark an abdication of the EU’s commitment to refugee protection and pave the way for EU member states to broker agreements with third countries for the offshore processing of asylum claims,” she said in a statement.
The new rules move a step closer towards allowing EU countries to set up “return hubs” outside the EU, similar to those established by Italy in Albania, although specific rules on return regulations are still under discussion in parliament.
The changes stem from an EU set of rules and processes for handling migration known as the Migration Pact, approved in 2023 but not due to be fully implemented until June 2026.
Anti-immigration rhetoric has surged throughout the EU since more than a million people, mainly from Syria, arrived via the Mediterranean in 2015. That sentiment has boosted public support for right-wing nationalist parties, pushing governments to adopt increasingly restrictive migration policies focused on returns.
“The text on safe countries of origin will place hundreds of thousands of people in situations of great danger. Third countries will be deemed safe despite an extremely worrying human rights situation,” said French Green lawmaker Mélissa Camara.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
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