Bangladesh on EU's 'safe' country list

The European Union (EU) published a list of seven countries it considers “safe”, in a bid to speed up migrant returns by making it harder for citizens of those nations to claim asylum in the bloc. The list - which includes Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia - would need to be approved by the bloc’s parliament and members before entering force.

The move, criticized by rights groups, is set to allow EU governments to process asylum applications filed from citizens of those countries more quickly - by introducing a presumption that such claims lack merit. “Many member states are facing a significant backlog of asylum applications, so anything we can do now to support faster asylum decisions is essential,” said Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration.

Brussels has been under pressure to clamp down on irregular arrivals and facilitate deportations, following a souring of public opinion on migration that has fueled hard-right electoral gains in several countries.

The commission said EU candidate nations would also in principle meet the criteria to be designated as safe countries. But it also laid out exceptions, including when they are hit by a conflict - something that would for example exclude Ukraine.

The EU had already presented a similar list in 2015 but the plan was abandoned due to heated debates over whether or not to include Turkey, another candidate for membership.

The list published Wednesday can be expanded or reviewed over time and was drawn up looking at nations from which a significant number of applicants currently come, the commission said. Several member states already designate countries they deem “safe” with regard to asylum - France’s list for instance includes Mongolia, Serbia and Cape Verde.

The EU effort aims to harmonies rules and ensure that all members have the same baseline. States can individually add countries to the EU list, but not subtract from it. Asylum cases will still have to be examined individually, ensuring that existing safeguards remain in place and asylum-seekers are not rejected outright, the commission added.