The European Union on Wednesday published a list of seven countries it considers “safe” in an attempt to speed up the return of migrants by making it harder for citizens of those countries to gain asylum in the EU.
The European Commission said it was proposing to include Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia on the list of “safe countries of origin.”
The move is designed to allow EU governments to process asylum claims made by nationals from these countries more quickly by introducing a presumption that such claims are unsupported.
“Many Member States face significant backlogs in processing asylum claims, so anything we can do now to speed up asylum decisions is essential,” EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said.
EU candidate countries would also in principle fulfil the criteria for categorisation as safe countries unless they are affected by conflict, the commission said. The EU had already submitted a similar list in 2015, but the plan was abandoned due to a heated debate on whether or not to include Turkey.
Brussels has come under pressure to limit the number of illegal arrivals and ease deportations, following a deterioration in public opinion on migration that has led to far-right electoral victories in several countries.
EU leaders in October called for urgent new legislation to increase returns and speed up the return process, and for the European Commission to evaluate “innovative” ways to tackle irregular migration.
In response, the European Commission last month unveiled a planned reform of the return system for migrants from the 27-nation bloc, paving the way for member states to set up migrant return centres outside the EU.
According to EU figures, less than 20 per cent of people ordered to leave the EU now return to their countries of origin.
