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Safe countries of origin: MEPs request assessment by EASO before finalising list

Amendments to the EC proposal for an EU Common list of safe countries of origin, which should help speed up the processing of asylum applications, will be debated by Civil Liberties Committee on Thursday from 16:00.

Amendments to the EC proposal for an EU Common list of safe countries of origin, which should help speed up the processing of asylum applications, will be debated by Civil Liberties Committee on Thursday from 16:00. Parliament's rapporteur for the proposal to establish an EU common list of safe countries of origin asked EASO to assess the situation in the Western Balkans and in Turkey before deciding if the seven countries proposed by the Commission should be included in such a list.

Sylvie Guillaume (S&D,FR), the lead MEP for this proposal, decided, in agreement with the Council, to request the Asylum office an updated assessment about the situation in the Western Balkans and in Turkey. Parliament has also asked the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) to highlight any implications the proposal has for fundamental rights.

The debate starts at 16:00, in room Joszef Antall (JAN) 4Q1 and can be followed live on EP Live.

While waiting for the experts´ evaluation, Ms Guillaume will try to reach a partial agreement on the content of the Regulation, excluding the list and all related recitals.

The aim of the legislation is to establish a common list of countries considered safe for their own nationals regarding asylum requests in the EU, in order to increase the efficiency of asylum systems, discourage abuse attempts and increase convergence in the application of asylum procedures among the member states.

In her draft report, Parliament´s rapporteur made several amendments to the Commission´s text, besides temporarily disregarding the list in the annex. Among other changes, Ms Guillaume proposes the creation of an Advisory Body on Safe Country of Origin Information, formed by representatives of EASO and UNHCR, as well as other independent and reliable third parties, which would assist during the designation and list review process.

She also suggests abolishing the national lists at the latest three years after the entry into force of the EU common list, as a means to reach real harmonisation within the EU.

Note to editors

The fact that a country is designated as safe does not mean that the asylum application of a national of that country will not be considered. All requests will still need to be examined individually, in accordance with the Asylum Procedures Directive. 

The Commission´s proposal, presented in September 2015, included the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. 

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