The EU has announced an agreement to facilitate the deportation of asylum seekers to 'safe third countries'
The provisional agreement between the Council of Europe and the European Parliament shall extend the grounds for non-admission of applications for protection.
Migrants on a beach in France waiting to board a boat.
Europe has taken a further step in the field of asylum policies and has paved the way for the deportation of migrants outside the EU. The Council of the European Union and theEuropean Parliament have reached an interim agreement to be able to reject without examining the content of an asylum application, redefining the concept of 'safe third country', which aims to facilitate the return of applicants to safe countries outside the European Union.
The agreement was concluded in the early morning hours of Wednesday between the Twenty-seven and the representatives of the European Parliament, and I shall now have to ratify it by both institutions in order to formalise the decision.
New cases of "safe third country" application
Under the Agreement, Member States may apply the concept of a safe third country in three specific circumstances, a mechanism whereby an asylum application may be rejected without an assessment of its content.
The first of these cases provides for the existence of a connection between the asylum seeker and a third country that is considered safe, but the text introduces an important change: such a connection shall not be a necessary criterion for the application of such denial.
The second situation shall make it possible to apply this concept when the applicant has been in a secure third country before reaching the European Union, even if there is no prior connection with that State.
With regard to the third case, the concept of a 'safe third country' shall be activated when there is an agreement or agreement between a Member State and a secure third country guaranteeing that the third country outside the EU shall consider its application for asylum.
This point strengthens the possibility of outsourcing asylum proceedings, provided that the third country formally assumes the examination of applications and is considered safe under European law.
However, the agreement has an important limitation that the latter case cannot apply to unaccompanied minors who are excluded from the use of this mechanism.
The provisional agreement, which must now be formally ratified by the EU Council and the European Parliament, would enter into force on 12 June 2026, and from that date the amendments would apply directly to all Member States.
You might like
Starmer has described it as "unacceptable" that information about Mandelson's appointment should not be disclosed to him beforehand
As he has done in previous sessions, he has taken "full responsibility" for Mandelson's election and has apologized to Epstein's victims. "I clearly failed them with my decision."
Israel and Lebanon will meet for the second time on Thursday in Washington
A White House spokesperson has reported that Israel and Lebanon will begin a second round of negotiations on 23 April, which will be resumed by Washington.
In the absence of a majority to overturn the Association Agreement, Kallas advocates trade measures against Israel
Last September the European Commission proposed the suspension of certain trading points of the agreement, a decision which requires only a qualified majority and does not constitute a complete breach of the treaty.
Garamendi has warned that the ACV has a "problem" with investments: "Less investment is made than in other communities."
The president of the Spanish employers has pointed out that the fact that about "half of all strikes" take place in the state in the ACV "does not help much" in attracting investment.
Iran accuses the US of violating the ceasefire after attacking a ship in Ormuz
Tehran denounces an act of "maritime piracy" and responds with drones. Tension and mistrust are growing on the verge of talks for a peace agreement.
Rumen Radev has won the Bulgarian elections, according to the first results
Radev seems likely to form a stable government, ending years of political instability. Progressive Bulgaria has won between 38% and 40% of the vote, according to the first data, gaining broad support from the other parties.
Eight children between the ages of one and fourteen have been killed in a shooting in Louisiana
According to the police, the incident was "a domestic quarrel." At first, the alleged perpetrator of the shooting fled, but was captured and later killed by police officers.
Iran says it is making progress in negotiations with the US, but the final agreement is still a long way off
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian has replied to Trump that he cannot deprive him of his "right" to develop nuclear power.
Iran has again imposed restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran warned today that it would close the strait again if the US did not lift the blockade on Iranian ports. US President Donal Trump has also failed to defuse tension and has warned that if he fails to reach an agreement with Iran by Wednesday, he will "start firing bombs again."
The EU says the opening of Ormuz is good news but insists that travel must be free
"The imposition of tolls for transit would set a dangerous precedent," said the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas. On the other hand, in the context of the crisis and convened by France and the United Kingdom, 50 countries and international organizations have met in Paris. They have announced the launch of a "neutral" maritime mission to "assist and protect" ships passing through the Persian Gulf.