EuroWire, STRASBOURG: The European Parliament on Feb. 10 approved two changes to European Union asylum procedures, endorsing a first EU-wide list of “safe countries of origin” and updated rules on when non-EU states may be treated as “safe third countries” for returning or transferring asylum applicants. The measures are intended to speed up the handling of claims and make it easier for member states to reject applications as inadmissible in defined circumstances.
In a vote of 408 in favour, 184 against and 60 abstentions, lawmakers backed the creation of a common list of safe countries of origin. The initial list includes Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia. Under the rules, applications from nationals of listed countries can be processed in accelerated procedures, while applicants can still argue that the presumption of safety should not apply to them because they face persecution or serious harm.
EU accession candidate countries will also be presumed safe for their own nationals, with exceptions. The legislation provides that a candidate country may not be treated as safe if circumstances such as indiscriminate violence linked to armed conflict apply, if the EU-wide asylum recognition rate for its citizens is above 20%, or if economic sanctions tied to actions affecting fundamental rights and freedoms point to a different assessment. Member states may designate additional safe countries of origin at national level.
Parliament also approved the regulation on applying the safe third country concept by 396 votes to 226, with 30 abstentions. The changes set out conditions under which an application may be declared inadmissible without examining its substance when a non-EU country is considered safe for the applicant and one of the required links is present, including a connection with the country, transit through it, or transfer under an agreement or arrangement with that country.
Safe third country agreements
Under the updated framework, a “connection” may include the presence of family members in the third country, the applicant’s previous stay there, or linguistic, cultural or similar links. The concept may also be applied when an applicant transited through a third country on the way to the EU and could have requested effective protection there. A third pathway is the use of bilateral, multilateral or EU-level agreements or arrangements allowing admission of asylum seekers by a third country.
Any agreement or arrangement used for this purpose must include an obligation for the third country to examine on the merits any request for effective protection from the people transferred. The rules also specify that the safe third country concept cannot be applied on the basis of an agreement or arrangement when unaccompanied minors are concerned. Separately, the legislation allows a third country to be designated as safe with exceptions for specific parts of its territory or clearly identifiable categories of persons.
The changes also affect appeals in inadmissibility cases. Under the updated safe third country rules, an appeal against an inadmissibility decision will no longer automatically grant the right to remain in the EU during the appeal process, while preserving the right to ask a court to allow the person to stay. Parliament said certain provisions, including the possibility to designate a third country as safe with specified exceptions and accelerated border procedures for applicants from countries with an EU-wide recognition rate under 20%, may apply before the wider asylum legislation takes effect.
Implementation timeline
The two files still require formal adoption by EU member states in the Council before they become law. The amendments to the safe third country concept are set to apply on the same day as the EU Asylum Procedures Regulation, on June 12, 2026, and will be directly applicable across member states. Parliament said the broader package of EU asylum rules is due to enter into application from June 2026.
The safe third country concept already exists in EU law, and the updated text follows a review process foreseen under the EU’s broader migration and asylum reforms. Parliament and the Council reached political agreement on the changes in late 2025, and the Feb. 10 votes in Strasbourg completed Parliament’s approval of the negotiated texts. The new measures establish common EU rules for accelerated handling of claims from designated safe countries and for inadmissibility decisions based on safe third country criteria.