What does "safe country of origin" actually mean?
The term safe country of origin plays a central role in asylum policy. This is because people who come from such a country generally have less chance of receiving protection in the EU.
Asylum applications from these countries are considered to be manifestly unfounded, are expedited and often end with a quick rejection and deportation.
A country is classified as safe if:
- there is no systematic persecution,
- basic human rights are respected,
- and the state functions in accordance with the rule of law.
In Germany, Section 29a of the Asylum Act regulates the conditions under which a country of origin is considered safe. Asylum seekers from these countries must make a particularly convincing case as to why they are still individually at risk. If this is not successful, there is often hardly any scope for legal protection.
Safe countries of origin: Who decides what is safe?
Each EU member state has its own list of safe countries of origin - with different criteria in some cases. In Italy, for example, the government can decide independently on the classification. In Germany, on the other hand, the approval of the Bundestag and Bundesrat is required.
The EU Commission is also working on a joint European list, which currently includes Bangladesh, India, Morocco and Tunisia. This list supplements the national regulations - it does not replace them.
Background: Why has the ECJ now intervened?
The reason for the European Court of Justice's ruling is a case from Italy. The government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been pursuing the so-called "Albania model" since 2023.
Asylum seekers from countries of origin classified as safe are to undergo their asylum procedures in specially established camps outside the EU, specifically in Albania - within 28 days and without staying in Italy.
Two refugees from Bangladesh, whose country of origin is on the Italian list of safe countries, had filed a complaint against this procedure. They were taken directly to Albania without being able to exercise their rights in the Italian asylum system.
An Italian court had already ruled previously: Bangladesh must not be classified as safe. There were indications of political oppression and a lack of protection for minorities.
The ruling: When can countries be classified as safe?
In its ruling, the ECJ now goes one step further and clarifies the conditions under which asylum applications may be rejected and countries classified as safe:
- Asylum applications may only be fast-tracked and rejected if the asylum seeker's country of origin is on a legally binding list of safe countries.
- To be included on such a list, governments must provide transparent and verifiable sources that prove that there is no threat of persecution in the respective country.
- A country can only be considered safe if all population groups - including queer people, religious minorities and political activists - are adequately protected there.
This means that the court ruling significantly strengthens the rights of asylum seekers in the EU and forces governments to be more transparent and precise when classifying safe countries of origin.
What consequences does the ruling have for Germany?
The ruling has no direct impact on German asylum policy for the time being - but it does send out a signal. This is because the German government is currently planning to add more countries to the list of safe countries of origin - including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and India.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) also wants to regulate the classification of countries of origin in the future in a similar way to Italy, i.e. without the approval of the Bundestag and Bundesrat. A corresponding law is currently being discussed in the Bundestag.
Should the law come into force, the German government would be able to independently classify countries as safe, but - according to the ECJ ruling - it would have to be able to transparently prove why the respective country was classified as safe.
EU asylum law: What will change from 2026?
How long the ECJ ruling will remain in effect is currently unclear. This is because the EU asylum law reform will come into force from June 2026 at the latest. The reform is intended to make it easier for member states to classify countries as safe countries of origin.
In addition, numerous EU member states - including Germany, Austria and Denmark - are calling for countries of origin to be classified as safe even if only parts of them are considered safe. Until then, however, the current EU law - and therefore the current ruling of the ECJ - applies.
