US EditionEU Lawmakers Back Tougher Asylum Rules Allowing Fast-Track Rejections
The EU approved rules enabling transfers of asylum seekers to third countries deemed safe, with nearly one million applications last year and 396 MEPs supporting the legislation.
- On Tuesday, the European Parliament approved two flagship texts tightening EU migration policy, passing 396 in favour, 226 against, and 30 abstentions, backed by a right‑wing and far‑right alliance.
- Pressure from rising caseloads drove change as the EU's political centre of gravity shifted right in recent years, with irregular entries down around 25 percent in 2025 versus 2024 and nearly one million asylum applicants last year.
- Under the revised Asylum Procedure Regulation, transfers can occur to any country meeting 'international standards', removing the link requirement, while unaccompanied minors remain exempted.
- Human rights groups warned that the removal of the automatic suspensive effect on appeals, criticised by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, heightens risks for vulnerable groups including survivors of violence and LGBTQ+ people and splintering Ursula von der Leyen's support.
- The EU also published its first list of 'safe countries of origin', including Kosovo and India, while Italy's migrant centres opened in 2024 in Albania remain largely empty amid legal challenges, as the vote could enable paid deals with foreign governments echoing the UK–Rwanda model.
22 Articles
22 Articles
The EU Parliament has cleared the way for deportations to third countries. "As soon as the law is implemented in Germany, we will make appropriate use of it," says Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.
EU legislators have approved numerous changes to the asylum system of the block, which will allow the rapid rejection of applications and the transfer of asylum seekers to countries considered as "safe", a measure which marks a drastic break-up of policy...
The European Union is tackling the challenge of illegal migration with a list of safe countries of origin, tightening the granting of asylum, and the possibility of sending those not eligible for asylum not to their home country, but to so-called safe third countries.
EU lawmakers back tougher asylum rules allowing fast-track rejections
EU lawmakers on Tuesday approved changes to the bloc’s asylum system that would allow fast-track rejections and the transfer of asylum seekers to countries deemed “safe”, a move that marks a sharp hardening of European migration policy and has drawn strong criticism from rights groups.
The European Parliament approved on Tuesday the European list of ‘safe third country’ for asylum seekers, a measure aimed at speeding up the processing of asylum applications and the expulsion of those who do not meet the conditions for staying in Europe. The list has been approved by 396 votes to 226, with 30 abstentions. The House is divided among the supporters of this piece of legislation, who have been the popular and groups on their right;…
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