EU interior ministers have agreed a common negotiating position on a series of migration laws that would tighten the use of “safe country” concepts, create an EU-wide framework for deportations and set out burden-sharing arrangements for frontline states from 2026.
Meeting in Brussels on Monday, ministers signed off the Council of the European Union’s line on three main files: a revision of rules on “safe third countries”, the first common EU list of “safe countries of origin”, and a new regulation on returns for people judged to be staying in the bloc irregularly. They simultaneously endorsed a “solidarity pool” for 2026 covering relocations, financial contributions and other support measures.
The measures are part of the implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, agreed politically in 2023 and due to apply from June 2026. The pact is intended to harmonise procedures across member states and to speed up both the processing of asylum claims and the removal of those found not to qualify for protection.
A central element of the Council’s stance is a broader use of the “safe third country” notion. Under the agreed approach, an EU state will be able to declare an asylum application inadmissible if the applicant could instead receive protection in a non-EU state considered safe according to EU criteria. This opens the way for more systematic use of arrangements to examine claims outside EU territory, building on bilateral deals such as Italy’s agreement with Albania.
Denmark, which currently holds the rotating Council presidency, has been one of the most active advocates of external processing. Danish immigration minister Rasmus Stoklund said the revised concept would allow member states to conclude agreements with “safe third countries” so that asylum procedures can be carried out beyond Europe’s borders, with the stated aim of reducing incentives for irregular sea crossings.
Ministers also agreed the first EU-level list of “safe countries of origin”. Nationals of these states are presumed, in general, not to face persecution or serious harm, allowing member states to apply accelerated procedures, including at borders or in transit zones. The Council’s position designates all EU accession candidate countries as safe in the absence of conflict or serious rights concerns, along with Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia. The European Commission would be responsible for monitoring conditions and proposing suspensions where necessary.
In parallel, ministers finalised the Council’s line on a new return regulation aimed at streamlining and tightening the removal of people found to have no legal right to stay. The draft would create a European return order, to be entered into the Schengen Information System, and introduce mutual recognition of return decisions so that an expulsion ordered by one member state could be enforced directly by another. The Council text also foresees longer possible detention periods and extended entry bans.
For the first time at EU level, individuals issued with a return decision would face explicit obligations to cooperate with national authorities, including by remaining available, providing identity information and complying with reporting requirements. Failure to leave voluntarily could in some cases lead to custodial penalties under national law. The proposals would also give a legal framework for the creation of “return hubs”, facilities intended to concentrate people awaiting removal, either inside the EU or in third countries with which the Union or member states conclude agreements.
Alongside the legal changes, ministers agreed parameters for the 2026 “solidarity pool”, a mechanism under the migration pact through which other member states are expected to assist countries experiencing particular migratory pressure. The reference target is 21,000 relocations from Mediterranean states or, alternatively, financial and other contributions amounting to €420 million. The Commission has previously identified Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain as main beneficiaries, with several central and eastern European countries also recognised as facing significant pressure.
More than 200 civil society organisations have criticised the direction of the reforms, arguing that they prioritise deterrence and deportation over access to protection. Amnesty International said the Council’s position on the return regulation points to expanded detention, surveillance and sanctions, and warned that the combination of obligations and penalties risks leaving more people in legal uncertainty or without effective safeguards.
The package now moves to negotiations with the European Parliament, which must agree a common text with the Council before the laws can be adopted. Parliamentary committees have already signalled support for the overall architecture of the safe country reforms, while tabling amendments to some safeguards on returns and the use of external “return hubs”. The coming trilogue talks are expected to focus on the balance between faster procedures, mutual recognition of decisions and guarantees against refoulement and arbitrary detention.
