EU agreement on first list of countries from which to (almost) never accept migrants

Brussels – European co-legislators move hand in hand toward an increasingly closed European Union. The EU Council and Parliament have signed the first list of safe countries of origin. The list includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia, which are considered reliable and therefore not to accept migrants from. In the trialogue, the Commission, Council, and Parliament also updated the rules on safe third countries, raising an even higher wall against migration. The new rules will enter into force in June 2026 under the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

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The list

The big news is the presence of a real list for safe countries of origin (SCO). The list includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as candidate countries for EU membership. This means that if a person with citizenship of one of these countries makes an asylum claim in an EU country, European authorities will assume that the claim is ineligible. The procedure will provide for applications to be fast-tracked, and the migrants will bear the burden of proof on the insecurity of their country. In addition, individual member states will be able to extend the list.

Only the European Court of Justice will be able to put a stop to national freedoms, as it can declare the decisions of individual capitals unlawful. So, yesterday’s appeal by MEP Cecilia Strada (PD, S&D), who had rightly pointed out that “voting for resolutions condemning violations of human rights and the rule of law in Turkey, Serbia, and Tunisia and then claiming that those countries are safe is hypocritical,” was useless.

The mood among European politicians, however, is more like that of Rasmus Stoklund, Denmark’s Minister for Immigration and Integration: “Every year tens of thousands of people arrive in Europe and ask for asylum, even if they come from safe countries where there is generally no risk of persecution. “Having made the rule, there are, however, exceptions, although there are very few possible loopholes. Firstly, it opens up the possibility for Ukrainians to enter the EU, as countries with ongoing conflict are not considered safe. Secondly, the Commission will monitor the international situation and decide whether to amend the list. 

The “creative” methods to counter immigration 

Also, regarding safe third countries (STCs), the new rules are worse for migrants. Here, there is no European list, but each member state can designate a non-EU country as a safe third country (STC). The asylum seeker’s application will be examined on a case-by-case basis. This new decision prevents the person from entering the Union if he/she has relatives in other reliable non-EU states, has transited through a safe third country, or if there is an agreement between the Union and a third country for the admission of asylum seekers.

The rules are very stringent and wink at migration policy, defined as “creative” by EU bodies. In fact, the very point that speaks of bilateral agreements for the admission of applicants facilitates initiatives such as Italian hubs in Albania.

The Immigration Breakfast

On the right—and not only—success is already being celebrated. Opening this morning’s European Council was a breakfast organised by the President of the Council, Giorgia Meloni, together with the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, and attended by 15 leaders—the theme: migration policy.

The discussion, according to a note released by Palazzo Chigi, was for a “commitment by Italy on the front of innovative solutions and to welcome the new letter signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior of 19 member states on the subject of innovative solutions.” In short, stricter rules to counter migratory flows are dismissed as “innovative solutions“ by European leaders. This initiative is also appreciated by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who stated in a letter signed a few days ago: “Our goal will be to find innovative ways to make progress in cooperation on migration.”