The German government is preparing a special kind of draft decree law (Rechtsverordnung) to simplify the process of deciding which countries could be considered 'safe' and therefore countries to which migrants can be returned. This type of legislative decree enables the government to enact legislation without the usual need to vote it through both houses of parliament.

According to German news agency dpa, determining these so-called safe countries of origin could limit applications for asylum. Countries on the new potential safe list include Algeria, India, Morocco, and Tunisia.

On Monday (June 2), the Tagesspiegel media outlet reported that Chancellor Friedrich Merz's cabinet could approve the measure as early as this Wednesday (June 4). If accepted, which is considered all but certain, the decree legislation would allow the new two-party government coalition to make decisions in future on which countries are listed as safe, in line with the EU's list of safe countries of origin, which was last published in April this year.

Speaking to the Welt media outlet, Social Democrat Dirk Wiese called bypassing the Bundesrat "justifiable" and legally "quite safe".

"Several countries are coming into focus now. We've been talking about Columbia and ultimately India, possibly countries in the Near East as well," Wiese said, adding that it also depends on the situation in the respective countries.

Read AlsoItaly's Council of ministers confirms list of 'safe countries'

Skirting Germany's constitution?

At present, Germany's Constitution, or Basic Law (Grundgesetz), mandates that any change to the safe countries list must be approved by the Bundesrat, the upper house of Germany's Parliament, which houses representatives from each of the German Federal states; as well as by the Bundestag, where elected politicians sit from all the parties.

In the past, Green and Left politicians sitting in both houses of parliament repeatedly blocked such plans to change the law. Germany's Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is hoping that by bypassing the houses of parliament, he can make headway with the government's new tougher migration policies.

German public media outlet tagesschau.de reported citing ministry circles, that the government hopes to use already existing laws in the EU governing the designation of safe countries, to back up its new list. Something that should be possible according to migration expert Daniel Thym, who told tagesschau.de, German law plays a "subordinate role" to European law in this matter.

Moving in line with the EU

In fact, most asylum seekers already receive refugee protection under EU law, and less than one percent of asylum applicants were actually granted protection under Article 16a of the Basic law last year, tagesschau.de reported. The Basic law procedures only apply if the asylum seeker does not enter via a safe third country. As Germany is located in the middle of the EU, this is very rarely the case.

Under existing German asylum law, 'safe countries of origin' are seen as those without political persecution. More specifically, a country is considered safe if it can be "safely concluded that neither political persecution nor inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment exists", according to Article 16a (3) of the Basic Law.

In addition to all other 26 EU member states, according to the federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Germany currently considers the following non-EU countries to be safe countries of origin: Southeastern European countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the Republic of Moldova and Serbia as well as Senegal and Ghana in western Africa.

Trying to speed up asylum procedures

The new government hopes that adding more states to the 'safe countries' list will save the authorities time by avoiding an extensive review, as well as speed up the process of rejecting asylum applications deemed clearly baseless.

It has set itself the goal of deciding asylum procedures within no more than six months as a rule.

Except for exceptional cases, dpa reported, migrants from 'safe countries' are unlikely to see their applications for asylum approved. In addition, deportations back to designated 'safe countries' face fewer legal obstacles.

This would allow the government to "react quickly and efficiently to changes in the political and legal situation in countries of origin with low recognition rates", the government's draft bill reads according to news agency Reuters.

Arguing your case

In cases where deportation orders might be challenged, the news agency Reuters reported that the new draft decree includes a proposal to remove state-aided legal defense for those people who are detained pending deportation.

However, the draft law also emphasizes that asylum seekers from 'safe countries' are by no means excluded from being granted protection, according to Reuters. "Asylum seekers from safe countries of origin will be given the opportunity during the asylum interview to present facts or evidence that prove that they are nevertheless at risk of persecution in their country of origin -- in deviation from the standard presumption," it reads.

Germany's new center-right government, which was sworn in less than a month ago, has promised to tighten Germany's migration and citizenship policy in a bid to reduce the instances of irregular migration. One of the first measures has been intensified border checks and allowing police to turn back asylum seekers at Germany's border, despite critics saying the move violates EU law.

Last week, InfoMigrants reported that the coalition plans to suspend family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection for two years.

with dpa, Reuters