Migration: ECJ sets hurdles for lists of safe countries of origin

Luxembourg. The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has raised the hurdles for determining safe countries of origin for accelerated asylum procedures. EU countries may only compile such lists themselves if they disclose the sources for their assessments. Furthermore, the current rule requires that the entire population in the country be safe, the judges in Luxembourg ruled.

The case concerned Italy's controversial "Albania Model" for rapid asylum procedures abroad. The determination of safe countries of origin is a fundamental prerequisite for implementing the model.

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Those who come from a so-called safe country of origin and apply for asylum in the EU may be rejected more quickly. EU countries can determine for themselves which countries they consider safe. In its ruling, the ECJ now stipulates that this assessment must be verifiable.

Furthermore, according to the ruling, Member States may not designate a third country as a "safe" country of origin if certain groups of people, such as homosexual people, are not safe there - at least until a new EU asylum regulation comes into force.

In the specific case underlying the ECJ ruling, two people from Bangladesh challenged the rejection of their asylum applications because their country of origin is considered safe by Italy. They were among the migrants who were taken from Italy to camps in Albania.

The basic idea of the "Albania Model" is to examine asylum applications from adult male migrants who come from so-called safe countries of origin and are intercepted in the Mediterranean in fast-track procedures abroad. To this end, Italy concluded an agreement with Albania to establish two camps on Albanian territory.

It's the prestige project of Italy's right-wing coalition government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but is currently on hold due to resistance within the Italian judiciary. According to a report by the human rights organization ActionAid and the University of Bari, the centers were only effectively operating for five days in 2024 – and at very high cost.

The two refugees from Bangladesh later came to Italy and filed a lawsuit there. Because the Italian court was unsure whether the Italian government's list of safe countries of origin was compatible with EU law, it referred the matter to the European Court of Justice.

The ruling by the highest European court is also groundbreaking for Germany, confirms migration law expert Pauline Endres de Oliveira. Germany has also established a list of safe countries. In addition to the EU member states, it includes the Western Balkan countries, as well as Georgia, Ghana, Moldova, and Senegal. "The European guidelines for classifying safe countries of origin also apply here," Endres de Oliveira explains.

According to the legal expert, it remains unclear whether and how the "Albania model" can continue after the decision. "There are still numerous legal questions surrounding the 'Italy-Albania model,'" explains the professor at Humboldt University in Berlin.

For example, whether the planned accommodation of asylum seekers in such centers would legally amount to detention. This would be problematic, because under international law, no one may be detained without legal grounds – and applying for asylum is not grounds for detention.

RND/dpa