“Years too late, and only thanks to the support of right-wing groups, the groundwork has finally been laid today for a key, long-standing demand of the AfD. Allowing asylum seekers, under certain conditions, to be transferred to safe third countries, and introducing accelerated procedures for applicants from countries on the EU-wide list of safe countries of origin, is a step in the right direction – but it is still far from the fundamental migration-policy turnaround that is needed.
It is particularly problematic that minors and their families are exempt from the safe third-country concept, which creates significant structural follow-on risks in practical implementation. These exemptions could lead family groups to deliberately use illegal entry into Europe as a strategic tool in order to claim the far-reaching special rights that follow. In addition, there is a risk that family constellations will increasingly be fabricated, which would entail an enormous bureaucratic verification burden.
With regard to the EU list of safe countries of origin, it must be ensured in the long term that it does not replace national lists; otherwise there is a risk of a further gradual shift of competences towards Brussels. Moreover, the list must be continuously adjusted to changing geopolitical realities and expanded, so that migrants from major exporters of asylum claims and crime, such as Syria or Afghanistan, will in future also be subject to accelerated asylum procedures.”
