NordenBladet —
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that the European Union’s common list of safe countries would reduce the time spent on procedures for persons coming from safe countries. “For these asylum seekers, an accelerated procedure or border procedure can be applied, because it is known that the person is not at risk in their home country,” Tali explained.
“Member States have the right to make their own lists of safe countries, but the aim of the draft is to create a common list for the European Union in order to prevent abuse of the asylum system and reduce costs and bureaucracy. The list will help speed up asylum procedures and make returns more efficient, which is why we support the initiative. However, as Estonia has also stated in its positions, the list has to be reviewed regularly and updated when necessary.”
It was decided that, according to the draft, a whole country or a specific part of it could be designated as safe. It is also possible to make exceptions and to assess for whom the country is safe and for whom it is not safe. The European Commission has proposed declaring Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as EU candidate countries, as safe countries of origin.
The Committee also supported to initiative according to which it will be possible to reject asylum applications as inadmissible and to return the applicant to the transit country through which they transited to the European Union if that country is sufficiently safe. The amendment will accelerate decision-making and reduce abuse of the asylum system.
At the Committee sitting, Minister of the Interior Igor Taro outlined the positions of the Government regarding the initiatives and proposals on establishing a European Union list of safe countries of origin and the draft regulation on the application of the ‘safe third country’ concept.
The European Union Affairs Committee decided by consensus to support the positions presented by the Government on both points, in line with the opinion of the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu.
Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592; +372 510 6179
merilin.kruuse@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: The Riigikogu supports adopting European Union list of safe countries of origin
Source: Parliament of Estonia