EPP can approve asylum list with the far right
Brussels – The EU’s conservative political group is ready to enlist the help of the far right to quickly pass a first EU list of “safe countries” in asylum contexts.
The list is intended to enable EU member states to conduct faster asylum assessments, citing that citizens from the listed countries are rarely considered to have grounds for asylum.
Seven countries – Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia – have been proposed by the EU Commission. As the EU Parliament is set to address the issue, the Swede Tomas Tobé (Moderates), who is negotiating for the conservative political group EPP, wants to see quick support for it.
He is therefore opening the door for a deal with the far-right political groups.
“I know there is already resistance from the Social Democrats regarding, for example, Tunisia, but here I am ready to gather the majority needed in the European Parliament. We need to have a much more effective migration policy,” Tobé told TT.
EU member states in the Council of Ministers are also reported to support the seven-country list. A decision is expected to be made towards the end of the year or in early 2026.
(September 4)
