The European Union has approved today, December 8, the new regulation on immigration procedures and the list of "safe third countries", paving the way for the implementation of new immigration policies that Italy expects to use to activate the reception and verification center set up in Albania.
According to Italian media "The Republic", Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who was in Brussels for the Justice and Home Affairs Council, stated that the approval of the list was a key condition for proposing to the Italian government the ratification of agreements that will allow the full functioning of immigrant centers on Albanian territory.
According to the EU decision, the countries classified as safe are Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia.
These citizens will be subject to accelerated asylum procedures, which usually end in rejection of the application, except in special cases. Also, if the migrants have passed through a safe third country, their application can be examined in that country.
The decision favors Italy, as most of the recent arrivals to Italian shores come from Bangladesh and Egypt, as well as Tunisia.
What does "safe third country" mean?
The regulation allows EU member states to declare an asylum application inadmissible when applicants have had the opportunity to obtain protection in another safe country before entering the EU.
A country is considered safe when the asylum granting rate for its citizens is less than 20%; there is a connection between the immigrant and the third country; the immigrant has passed through that country; there is an agreement between the EU and the third country for the examination of applications.
However, these rules do not apply to unaccompanied minors.
European Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, said that there is now a legal basis for "new and innovative" ideas in managing migration flows.
He mentioned countries that are already negotiating agreements such as the Netherlands with Uganda and Italy with Albania.
"It would be positive if several countries joined forces," Brunner said, emphasizing that the final decision-making lies with member states and third countries./RTSH
