Background: What is a "safe third country"?
In EU asylum law, a "safe third country" is a country outside the EU that complies with certain minimum standards in order to offer asylum seekers effective protection. In the past, these included:
- the recognition of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention
- compliance with the principle of non-refoulement (no return to countries where there is a risk of persecution)
- a functioning and fair asylum procedure
In addition, a safe third country must respect fundamental human rights and ensure that people are not exposed to the risk of persecution or serious harm.
EU member states may independently classify third countries as "safe", but only under certain conditions: The classification must be legally verifiable and the country must be safe for all reference groups, not just for individuals. In addition, the EU state must regularly check whether the third country still meets all the requirements for classification as "safe".
Requirements for deportation to safe third countries
The third country solution allows EU countries to reject asylum applications if protection can also be granted in a safe third country. Asylum seekers can be deported or returned to this country if there is a corresponding agreement with the third country. In practice, however, this is often difficult because many third countries rarely conclude such agreements.
Currently, the return of an asylum seeker to a third country requires a direct "link", such as a previous stay or transit, family ties or previous settlement.
Criteria for returns to third countries to be expanded
According to Euractiv, the current EU proposal goes one step further. In future - in addition to the factors already in place - indirect links to the third country could also be sufficient, for example:
- Transit through a transit zone (for air travel)
- Linguistic or cultural links to the third country
- generally "comparable ties"
This gives member states more leeway to authorize returns even if the link to the third country is not strong.
Special regulations for unaccompanied minors
As Euractiv also reports, the regulations for unaccompanied minors are to be reconsidered. While earlier proposals ruled out repatriation to third countries for this group, there are now to be strictly limited exceptions.
According to this, transfers to third countries are possible if they are compatible with the principles of international law and EU law. At the same time, however, the draft emphasizes that such cases should remain rare.
Classification in EU asylum and migration law
The debate is related to the reform of European asylum law, which was adopted in May 2024 and will come into full force in summer 2026. It is already being applied in part. The pact significantly expands the definition of a "safe third country".
Under the law applicable from summer 2026, an EU member state may also classify a third country as "safe" if
- the third country does not fully recognize the Geneva Refugee Convention
- the third country is only considered safe in certain regions or for certain groups of people
Conclusion: What does this mean for asylum seekers in the EU and Germany?
Should the new proposal prevail, asylum seekers in Germany and the EU would have to expect stricter asylum rules in future. Deportations to safe third countries could already be possible if there is only a weak or indirect connection to this country - for example, a mere transit (transit zone at the airport) or cultural and linguistic links.
There is an increased risk that asylum applications will be classified as inadmissible more quickly. Particularly vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied minors continue to enjoy special protection. However, exceptions could also apply here in future.
For asylum seekers in the EU and in Germany, this means greater dependence on which bilateral agreements Germany and other EU states conclude with third countries.
