The proposed list of "safe countries of origin", published in a Commission press release on April 16, includes Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia, and is part of the EU’s migration reform under the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is scheduled to take full effect in July 2026.

InfoMigrants spoke with a spokesperson from the European Commission to clarify what this proposal means.

InfoMigrants: How did the European Commission identify which countries to include on the safe list?

Commission spokesperson: Our methodology, developed in cooperation with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is based on specific criteria, such as the number of irregular arrivals or the recognition rate of asylum claims.

At the Commission’s request, the EUAA assessed the legal and political situations in certain countries, in particular:

• Candidate countries for EU accession (such as Turkey or Georgia). Since these countries were deemed to meet the Copenhagen criteria for candidate status, it's assumed they also meet the criteria to be designated as safe countries of origin.
• Countries of origin that generate a large number of asylum applications in the EU but have an EU-wide recognition rate equal to or below 5 percent.
• Visa-exempt countries that generate a large number of asylum applications in the EU and also have a recognition rate of 5 percent or less.

In the last two cases, these are considered partner countries where, generally, there is no risk of persecution or serious harm. This is evidenced by the very low asylum recognition rates of their citizens in EU Member States.

We also considered the safe country lists already in use by Member States.

Each country has its own list. If the EU-wide list is adopted by the European Parliament and the 27 Member States, it would be the first harmonized list at the European level: all Member States would be expected to apply it.

Using this methodology, the EUAA compiled detailed information on these countries based on a range of sources, such as EU enlargement reports, reports from the European External Action Service (EEAS), other EU agencies like the Fundamental Rights Agency, as well as reports from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), other international organizations, NGOs, and think tanks.

IM: Is this list final, or can it be revised depending on political developments in the countries of origin?

Spokesperson: The Commission will monitor the list regularly, both operationally and politically.

On the political side, the Commission will continuously assess developments in these partner countries.

If there’s a significant deterioration in a country’s situation, the Commission can suspend its designation as a safe country of origin for up to six months (renewable once).

Operationally, the EUAA will support the Commission by continually monitoring the situation in the countries of origin through regular updates of country-specific information.

A country can be removed from the list through the regular legislative procedure (Commission proposal and co-decision process).

IM: What will happen to asylum seekers from countries on the safe list who apply in an EU Member State?

Spokesperson: In practice, the application of this list means Member States will use an "accelerated procedure" to individually assess asylum applications from nationals of these countries.

During these individual assessments, special attention must be paid to applicants who may still have a well-founded fear of persecution or be at real risk of serious harm.

Under the EU Pact on Asylum and Migration, the EUAA will also monitor the application of asylum rules, including the use of safe country designations.

In May 2024, the EU Council approved the Pact on Asylum and Migration. This sweeping reform, which tightens immigration control in Europe, will take effect in 2026. The Pact, heavily negotiated by the Member States, introduces a "screening" procedure at the EU’s borders to identify migrants and more quickly distinguish between those likely to receive asylum and those likely to be returned to their countries of origin.

Those with the lowest chances of being granted asylum will be held in centers while their cases are reviewed through an "accelerated" process, lasting a maximum of six months. Other asylum seekers will go through the regular procedure.

The Pact also includes a solidarity mechanism among EU countries to share the responsibility of handling asylum seekers.

IM: This is the first time the EU has created a common safe country list for asylum matters. Was this an urgent measure?

Spokesperson: The list is scheduled to take effect from July 2026, when the entire Pact becomes applicable. However, we propose fast-tracking its implementation, once the new text is approved by the European Parliament and the Council.

This way, Member States can begin applying the border or accelerated procedure to people from countries where, on average, 20 percent or fewer applicants are granted international protection in the EU.

However, exceptions can be made for the designation of safe third countries or safe countries of origin, giving Member States greater flexibility to exclude specific regions or clearly identifiable groups of people.