Germany advocates for identifying 'secure nations of birth' in immigration matters
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued a landmark ruling on August 1, 2025, imposing stricter conditions for EU member states to designate "safe countries of origin" for fast-tracking asylum procedures. The ruling emphasizes the need for comprehensive protection for all population groups, transparent evidence, and judicial review.
The ECJ's decision explicitly rejects the admissibility of personal exceptions to safe country status. This means that individual vulnerabilities cannot be selectively considered when listing a country as safe. The Court underlined that if any part of the population, such as LGBTQ+ people, women, political opponents, or other vulnerable groups, faces persecution or discrimination, the country cannot be deemed safe.
This ruling has significant implications for Germany, which currently has a list of safe countries (eight European non-EU and two African countries) and aims to accelerate asylum decisions and reduce irregular immigration. The new governing coalition was assessing expanding this list based on criteria including low asylum acceptance rates over five years. However, the ECJ decision underscores the need for transparent evidence and judicial oversight, limiting Germany's ability to fast-track removals without scrutiny.
The ECJ ruling also challenges national policies like Italy’s "Albania model" for offshore fast-track processing, reflecting a stricter EU-wide legal framework that holds member states accountable to a higher standard of protection for asylum seekers and enforces transparency and judicial rights in asylum procedures. This could lead Germany and other EU countries to adopt more cautious and legally defensible approaches when designating safe countries to avoid legal challenges and ensure compliance with EU law.
Asylum-seekers from these safe countries have a low chance of being granted asylum in Germany. The German government plans to reform the process for determining safe countries of origin, with decisions being made by decree and without input from the Bundestag or Bundesrat, causing growing uncertainty among asylum-seekers. The Left Party has called for a comprehensive review of the list of safe countries of origin, including the immediate removal of Georgia and Moldova from the list due to precarious human rights situations in certain regions.
The ECJ ruling represents a clear repudiation of the federal government's plans to classify other countries, such as Tunisia and Algeria, as safe. The Green Party lawmaker Filiz Polat hopes the ECJ's ruling will force the federal government to change its course on asylum policy. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, in favor of the idea, mentioned that it could be more expedient for several EU countries to work together.
The ongoing changes in asylum policies and procedures in Germany have left asylum-seekers in a state of uncertainty. The new coalition government aims to add more countries to the safe list based on certain requirements, such as fewer than 5% of asylum-seekers being accepted over a five-year period. The coalition government has submitted a draft bill on asylum law reform, which includes abolishing certain regulations that currently slow down deportations of rejected asylum-seekers, with Interior Minister Dobrindt criticizing the current number of deportations and wanting to remove obstacles to limit illegal migration.
In summary, the ECJ ruling tightens the rules for "safe country of origin" designations by requiring comprehensive protection for all population groups, transparent evidence, and judicial review. This ruling impacts Germany's refugee policy by restricting fast-track asylum procedures and requiring greater accountability and scrutiny in the designation process. The ruling also challenges national policies like Italy's "Albania model" for offshore fast-track processing, leading to a stricter EU-wide legal framework for asylum seekers.
- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has imposed stricter conditions on EU member states for designating "safe countries of origin," emphasizing the need for protection, transparent evidence, and judicial review.
- The ECJ ruling rejects personal exceptions to safe country status, meaning that individual vulnerabilities cannot be selectively considered when listing a country as safe.
- The decision affects Germany, which currently lists eight European non-EU and two African countries as safe, with plans to increase this list based on low asylum acceptance rates over five years.
- The ECJ ruling underscores the need for transparency and judicial oversight, limiting Germany's ability to fast-track removals without scrutiny.
- The ECJ ruling challenges national policies like Italy’s "Albania model" for offshore fast-track processing, promoting a stricter EU-wide legal framework for asylum seekers.
- The Green Party lawmaker, Filiz Polat, hopes the ECJ's ruling will force the German government to change its asylum policy, rejecting plans to classify Tunisia and Algeria as safe.
- Ongoing changes in Germany's asylum policies and procedures, including the addition of more countries to the safe list and reforms to expedite deportations, have left asylum-seekers in a state of uncertainty.
