Policy Paper: Creating more “safe” countries and frontloading the Pact

ECRE has published a policy paper on the various amendments to the Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) that have been put forward by the European Commission in 2025. The proposed reforms relate to the creation of an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin (SCO), the “frontloading” of provisions for designating countries as safe and the application of accelerated and border procedures, and the revision of the definition of “safe third countries” (STC) – all despite the already expanded use of the “safe country” concepts that were envisaged by the Pact on Migration and Asylum (“the Pact”).

Throughout the paper, ECRE raises a number of concerns regarding the proposed amendments. Firstly, the provisions on SCO would create a presumption that candidate countries are safe and would establish a list of other safe countries based on opaque assessment criteria. The proposals on bringing forward certain elements of the Pact – so called “frontloading” – risk introducing additional complexity into the common asylum system and encouraging inconsistent implementation by EU member states (MS). ECRE is particularly critical of this selective implementation in which restrictive measures regarding the designation of countries as safe and provisions relating to the use of the accelerated and border procedure are frontloaded without the necessary safeguards that are fundamental to both the legal text and the political agreement underpinning it.

The proposed amendments to the STC concept are particularly concerning. These changes would allow MS to eliminate the requirement for a connection between the applicant and the third country, and to return individuals to countries with which they have no ties. Along with its broader reservations about the application of the STC concept in general, ECRE underlines that the removal of the connection criterion should be examined with reference to the full range of changes to the use of the STC concept already adopted in the APR, which include changes to the definition of safety and the removal of safeguards.

In addition, the proposed amendments would also remove the suspensive effect of appeals in such cases. In ECRE’s view, removing the automatic suspensive effect of the appeal erodes the right to a remedy to such an extent that it is no longer effective. As such, the provisions in the APR would not be in line with the jurisprudence of either the Court of Justice of the EU or the European Court of Human Rights, according to which a series of guarantees in the APR, EU primary law and international law must be respected.

Overall, ECRE sees no added value in the proposed amendments and recommends to the co-legislators to reject them. The proposals raise significant concerns about potential human rights violations and further undermine protection standards. They reflect a broader effort to outsource responsibility to non-EU countries, many of which are either unwilling to co-operate with the EU or are already hosting significantly more displaced people per capita than nearly all MS. These reforms raise serious concerns about compliance with fundamental rights, both for nationals of presumed SCO and for individuals transferred to presumed STC. In practice, rather than resulting in actual transfers to third countries, the measures are more likely to leave asylum applicants in extended periods of limbo and uncertainty, with their rights denied in Europe while ineffective transfer attempts are made.

Bringing forward isolated measures from the complex legislative package that is the Pact introduces legal uncertainty and incoherence. It seems unrealistic to adopt the proposal and advance its implementation significantly ahead of its scheduled entry into force in June 2026 – potentially rendering these efforts redundant.

Collectively, the measures would further complicate the already complex APR and increase the administrative burden on national courts. In ECRE’s view, rather than pursuing additional and unnecessary legislative changes, EU institutions and agencies should prioritise the effective implementation of the already agreed reforms – due to come into force in 2026 – and ensure compliance with existing legal obligations. This is particularly urgent in light of the continued and widespread violations of EU and international asylum law across Europe.

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