From the Migration Pact onwards, a European list of safe countries will apply; this is how EU Member States currently determine whether a country is safe.

Under European rules, EU Member States must take into account which countries are considered safe when assessing an asylum application. Policies in this area still vary significantly between EU Member States and EMN Observer Countries. From the implementation of the EU Asylum and Migration Pact, a European list of safe countries will apply.

> Read the full EMN inform (comparison between 26 EU Member States and Observer Countries*)

Most EU Member States currently still use a national list of safe countries of origin when assessing asylum applications. Finland and Portugal do not have such a list, but assess applications on a case-by-case basis. Like the Netherlands, Estonia, Malta and Luxembourg had lists but made exceptions. If you came from a specific region or belonged to a particular group, you could still face danger or risk in a country that was on the list. The Netherlands and the other three countries have stopped applying such exceptions following rulings by the European Court of Justice (C-406/22, C-758/24 and C-759/24).

Shorter procedures

Twenty countries apply an accelerated procedure for handling applications from people originating from a safe country of origin. The time limit for lodging an appeal varies by country, from one week in the Netherlands to 30 days in Finland. Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Slovakia exclude unaccompanied minors from the accelerated procedure, while Finland does not apply the accelerated procedure to vulnerable applicants.

The 'safe third country concept'

Many EU Member States and EMN Observer Countries also apply the so-called 'safe third country' concept. These are other safe countries outside the EU where an asylum seeker could have applied for protection. This may include, for example, a country through which a person travelled before arriving in Europe or with which they have demonstrable ties. Six countries have a national list for this purpose. Thirteen countries, including the Netherlands, assess this on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to what is laid down in the recast Asylum Procedures Directive (2013/32/EU), Austria, Cyprus, Estonia and Finland apply additional criteria when designating a non-EU country (third country) as safe. These may include compliance with specific international human rights treaties or the possibility for the applicant to remain in that country during the asylum procedure. None of the countries require specific guarantees or safeguards regarding the treatment of individuals upon arrival in the designated “safe third country”.

New European rules

With the entry into force of the Migration Pact, a central EU list of safe countries of origin will apply. Applications for international protection (asylum) from individuals originating from countries deemed safe are considered unlikely to succeed and may therefore be processed more quickly. EU Member States may designate additional safe countries of origin at national level.

There will be no common list of 'safe third countries'. A non-EU country may, under the Pact, be designated as safe at both European and national level, potentially with exceptions for specific regions or groups.

*Participating countries: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), Cyprus (CY), Czechia (CZ), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Spain (ES), Finland (FI), France (FR), Greece (EL), Croatia (HR), Hungary (HU), Ireland (IE), Italy (IT), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Latvia (LV), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Sweden (SE), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK); Serbia (RS)