A third-country national may have his or her application for international protection rejected under an accelerated border procedure when his or her country of origin is designated as ‘safe’ by a Member State, the Court of Justice of the EU confirmed in a ruling (C-758/24) on Friday 1 August.
However, the designation of a ‘safe country of origin’ by a legislative act must be subject to effective judicial review of compliance with the material criteria laid down by EU law, and the sources of information on which the designation is based must be accessible to the applicant and the national court.
The Court also notes that a Member State cannot, however, include a country in the list of safe countries of origin if that country does not offer sufficient protection to its entire population.
The judgment thus confirms the Opinion of the Advocate General of 10 April (see EUROPE 13619/27).
The Court was ruling on the controversial arrangement between Italy and Albania to outsource asylum procedures.
In Italy, third countries have been designated as ‘safe countries of origin’ since October 2024 by a legislative act in which Bangladesh is considered to be such a ‘safe country of origin’. It was in this context that two Bangladeshi nationals rescued at sea by the Italian authorities were taken to a detention centre in Albania under the Italy-Albania protocol, where they challenged the rejection of their application for protection in Italy under an accelerated procedure.
As the Italian legislative act did not specify the sources of information on which the legislature based its assessment of the country's security, the Court reminded Rome that its act must be subject to effective judicial review. This review must cover compliance with the material conditions for such designation laid down in the Directive.
The sources of information must be sufficiently accessible, both for the applicant and for the court or tribunal having jurisdiction.
The Court also states that, until the entry into force of the new Asylum Procedures Regulation, which will replace the current directive in mid-2026, a Member State may not designate a third country as a ‘safe country of origin’ if, for certain categories of persons, it does not meet the material conditions for such designation.
The new regulation provides for exceptions for considering a third country to be a ‘safe country of origin’, even if certain categories of people are mistreated there.
Giorgia Meloni not happy. The Court’s decision is “surprising”, said the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, on X. “Once again, the courts, this time European courts, are claiming rights that do not belong to them, despite their political responsibilities. The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that national courts should have jurisdiction not over individual cases, but over aspects of migration policy relating to the repatriation and expulsion of illegal immigrants”.
The Court’s “decision weakens policies to combat mass illegal immigration and protect national borders”, added Ms Meloni.
It is “remarkable that this should happen just a few months before the entry into force of the Pact, which contains stricter rules”.
Link to the decision: https://aeur.eu/f/i31 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)