EU Proposes Allowing Deportation of Asylum Seekers to Third Countries

Magnus Brunner, the nominee to become the European Union's commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, faces a confirmation hearing before a European Parliament committee, in Brussels, Belgium November 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Magnus Brunner, the nominee to become the European Union's commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, faces a confirmation hearing before a European Parliament committee, in Brussels, Belgium November 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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EU Proposes Allowing Deportation of Asylum Seekers to Third Countries

Magnus Brunner, the nominee to become the European Union's commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, faces a confirmation hearing before a European Parliament committee, in Brussels, Belgium November 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Magnus Brunner, the nominee to become the European Union's commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, faces a confirmation hearing before a European Parliament committee, in Brussels, Belgium November 5, 2024. (Reuters)

The European Union executive on Tuesday proposed amending EU law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection, a move rights groups say would undermine the right to asylum.

The European Commission said the changes, which would let countries remove an asylum applicant if they could be sent to a third country deemed safe by the EU, would "accelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems".

The proposal would lift the requirement for a connection between the asylum seeker and the safe third country.

“The revised Safe Third Country concept is another tool to help member states process asylum claims more efficiently, while fully respecting the EU’s values and fundamental rights,” said EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner.

Anti-immigration sentiment has grown across the 27-nation EU since over a million people - mostly Syrian refugees - arrived via the Mediterranean in 2015, catching the bloc unprepared. Unable to agree on how to share responsibility, EU countries have primarily focused on returns and reducing arrivals.

The amendments also stipulate that if asylum seekers appeal their rejected requests, they cannot automatically remain in EU territory during the appeals process.

Amnesty International sharply criticized the proposal.

“Let’s be clear: this revision would only further weaken access to asylum in Europe, diminish people’s rights, and increase the risk of refoulement and widespread arbitrary detention in third countries - especially given the EU’s increasingly evident inability to monitor and uphold human rights in its partner countries,” said Olivia Sundberg Diez, Amnesty’s EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum.

The proposal stems from the EU migration pact that was adopted in 2023 and is expected to take effect in 2026. However, it will require approval by the European Parliament and EU member governments.

Earlier this year, the EU Commission proposed that member states be allowed to set up centers in non-EU countries where migrants whose asylum claims were rejected would await deportation.



Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.