Safe Country List for Faster Asylum Checks

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 10 February 2026 to create a single EU list of “safe countries of origin.”
The list will help speed up asylum checks for people coming from countries that are considered safe, meaning they are unlikely to face persecution or serious harm.

Why a common list?

• Current national lists differ, making asylum procedures uneven.
• A Union‑level list would give all member states the same rules for fast‑track processing of applications from safe countries.
• It would also help prevent people who are not actually safe from being wrongly granted protection.

How will a country be added?

• The Commission reviews reliable information from the EU Agency for Asylum, the European External Action Service, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other sources.
• A country must show that it has a democratic legal system, no persecution, and no serious risk of harm.
• Candidate EU member states automatically qualify as safe unless there is a serious threat of violence, sanctions that affect human rights, or a high rate of protection decisions (over 20 %).

What happens if conditions change?

• The Commission can suspend or remove a country’s safe status, fully or partially, if the situation worsens.
• Member states must stop using the safe status at national level while it is suspended.
• The Commission can later restore the status if the situation improves.

Current safe countries on the Union list

• Bangladesh
• Colombia
• Egypt
• India
• Kosovo (candidate state)
• Morocco
• Tunisia

Other rules

• Member states can still add other countries at national level, but they must follow the same criteria.
• The regulation will take effect the day after it is published in the Official Journal.
• The list is in Annex II of the regulation.
• Ireland will participate; Denmark will not.

The regulation aims to make asylum procedures fairer, faster, and more consistent across the EU while protecting fundamental rights.