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EU Lawmakers Reach Informal Deal to Tighten Asylum Rules and Set First Union‑Wide ‘Safe’ Origin List

The political agreements still await formal approval, with some measures eligible for early use by member states once enacted.

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 file photo, refugees and migrants arrive in a dinghy accompanied by Frontex vessels at the village of Skala Sikaminias, on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey. AP Photo/Michael Varaklas, File)
FILE - Migrants, who arrived recently at the island of Crete, are held under guard at a temporary shelter in the village of Agia, near Chania, on the island of Crete, southern Greece, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Giannis Angelakis, File)

Overview

  • Negotiators agreed to updated safe third country rules letting states deem claims inadmissible case by case based on a connection, transit through a country, or an admission agreement.
  • Applicants appealing an inadmissibility decision would not have an automatic right to remain in the member state during the appeal under the deal.
  • Unaccompanied minors are exempt from safe third country transfers based on agreements, with security‑related cases following the Asylum Procedure Regulation.
  • The first EU list of safe countries of origin names Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia, with accession candidates presumed safe unless specified exceptions apply.
  • The Commission would monitor and can suspend designations, member states could use territorial or category carve‑outs, accelerated border procedures could start for nationalities with under 20% recognition rates, and Amnesty International condemned the changes as undermining refugee protections.