Proposal would lift requirement for connection between asylum seeker and safe third country
\n Brussels
\nThe European Union executive on Tuesday proposed amending EU law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection, a move rights groups say would undermine the right to asylum.
\nThe European Commission said the changes, which would let countries remove an asylum applicant if they could be sent to a third country deemed safe by the EU, would \u201caccelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems\u201d.
\nThe proposal would lift the requirement for a connection between the asylum seeker and the safe third country.
\n\u201cThe revised Safe Third Country concept is another tool to help member states process asylum claims more efficiently, while fully respecting the EU\u2019s values and fundamental rights,\u201d said EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner.
\nAnti-immigration sentiment has grown across the 27-nation EU since over a million people\u2013mostly Syrian refugees \u2014 arrived via the Mediterranean in 2015, catching the bloc unprepared.
\nUnable to agree on how to share responsibility, EU countries have primarily focused on returns and reducing arrivals.
\nThe amendments also stipulate that if asylum seekers appeal their rejected requests, they cannot automatically remain in EU territory during the appeals process.
\nAmnesty International sharply criticised the proposal.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: this revision would only further weaken access to asylum in Europe, diminish people\u2019s rights, and increase the risk of refoulement and widespread arbitrary detention in third countries \u2014 especially given the EU\u2019s increasingly evident inability to monitor and uphold human rights in its partner countries,\u201d said Olivia Sundberg Diez, Amnesty\u2019s EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum.
\nThe proposal stems from the EU migration pact that was adopted in 2023 and is expected to take effect in 2026. However, it will require approval by the European Parliament and EU member governments.
\nIn April, the EU Commission included states such as Egypt and Tunisia \u2014 where human rights records have come under scrutiny \u2014 on a list of \u201csafe countries\u201d to which failed asylum seekers could be returned.
\nA month earlier, it proposed that member states be allowed to set up centres in non-EU countries where migrants whose asylum claims were rejected would await deportation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Proposal would lift requirement for connection between asylum seeker and safe third country Brussels The European Union executive on Tuesday proposed amending EU law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection, a move rights groups say would undermine the right to asylum. The European Commission […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-479803","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n