A ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is expected to impact Germany’s policies aimed at curbing illegal migration. This ruling will disrupt plans to designate so-called “safe countries of origin” for possible deportations of migrants.
So-called “safe countries of origin” are countries deemed suitable for deportation based on assessments by the German government or the European Union. Whether these assessments are accurate or not is often a subject of debate that usually ends up in court.
The ECJ recently ruled that EU countries may designate safe countries of origin to speed up asylum procedures (including deportations), provided that authorities disclose the sources of their assessments. The court also held that for a country to be considered safe, it must offer adequate protection to the entire population, including minorities.
The Luxembourg-based court also stated that while having an expedited process does not violate EU law, the designation of safe countries must be subject to judicial review so that migrants can challenge decisions regarding their asylum claims.
Germany has its own specific list of so-called safe countries of origin. Asylum seekers from these countries have slim chances of receiving asylum in Germany. Currently, eight non-EU European countries and two African countries are on this list.
List of so-called safe countries
Germany’s new coalition government, made up of the center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), has agreed to add more countries to this list. German officials stated: “We continuously evaluate whether more countries meet the requirements.” Specifically, a country is classified as safe if fewer than 5% of asylum seekers from that country have been granted protection over a five-year period.
It remains to be seen whether implementing these plans will be as straightforward as the coalition agreement suggests after the ECJ ruling. A spokesperson for Germany’s Ministry of the Interior, responsible for asylum policy, said the ruling will be reviewed.
However, the German government still intends to reform the process of designating a country as safe. In the future, safe countries of origin will be designated by decree. This means neither the Bundestag (federal parliament) nor the Bundesrat (federal council representing the 16 federal states) will have a say in the matter.
Germany’s Interior Minister calls for asylum law reform
The German coalition government has submitted a draft bill on this matter, which is expected to be voted on after the summer parliamentary recess. The first debate took place last July.
Alexander Dobrindt, Germany’s Interior Minister, used the opportunity to criticize what he sees as the insufficient number of deportations of rejected asylum seekers. He said, “Our goal now is to remove obstacles to effectively limit illegal migration.”
One of the obstacles he mentioned is that under current law, people ordered to be deported have the right to legal counsel before their planned deportation is carried out. This regulation is slated for removal. Dobrindt hopes this will speed up deportations to countries previously designated as safe.
In the EU, there are currently discussions about establishing joint centers for the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. EU interior ministers discussed this issue at their meeting in Copenhagen last July.
Dobrindt supports this idea. He emphasized that reaching agreements with non-EU countries can be difficult for member states individually, whereas cooperation between several EU countries can be more effective.
According to Dobrindt, many of those who previously arrived in Germany were not eligible for asylum. He hopes the planned reforms will send a clear message: those coming from a safe country of origin should not make the journey; those who cannot stay should not come in the first place.
Some opposition members in Germany hope the ECJ ruling will force the federal government to change course on asylum policy.
Filiz Polat, a Green Party MP, said, “The ECJ ruling on safe countries of origin is a major victory for human rights and the individual right to asylum in Europe.”
She added that the plan to classify safe countries of origin via a legal decree without parliamentary oversight is unacceptable.