On Thursday, MEPs concluded an informal deal with the Council for the creation of an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin (SCO) as proposed by the Commission. Asylum requests by nationals of the listed countries – Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia – will be fast-tracked, with applicants having to prove that this provision should not apply to them. The designation of a third country as a SCO at EU level will be done in accordance with the conditions set out in the Asylum Procedure Regulation and the amending rules agreed today. The list can be expanded in the future under the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure.

Candidate countries

EU accession candidate countries will also be considered safe countries of origin unless relevant circumstances, such as indiscriminate violence in the context of an armed conflict, indicate otherwise. Other reasons include an EU-wide asylum recognition rate of above 20%, or economic sanctions due to actions affecting…