European Union institutions are advancing initiatives that converge on the goal of narrowing access to asylum and outsourcing migration control. Over the past week, committees in the European Parliament and the Council of the EU both moved forward with proposals on “safe third countries” and “safe countries of origin,” leading to criticism from human rights activists and left-wing politicians.

The Council essentially backed regulations that would make it easier for EU members to reject asylum applications. In a statement issued on Monday, December 8, the body explained these changes would allow authorities to dismiss claims “when asylum seekers could have sought and, if eligible, received international protection in a non-EU country that is considered safe for them.” Along similar lines, updated safe country-of-origin regulations would broaden the criteria for fast deportations.

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Last week, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted its own positions on the topic, signaling that different institutions are aligned on introducing such restrictive measures into EU legislation. At the time, the Left group warned that the committee’s vote supported efforts by far-right and conservative governments to move asylum processes outside EU territory. “This proposal is tailor-made to help Meloni’s government push through the Italy–Albania deal, a cynical attempt to outsource the asylum process and dodge both national court rulings and European Court of Justice jurisprudence,” the group stated.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s initiative with Albania, enacted in 2024, foresees transferring people who seek asylum in Italy to detention centers on Albanian soil built and funded by Italian authorities until their claims are processed. While the plan has faced severe criticism for human rights abuse, as well as judicial challenges in Italy, it has served as inspiration for a number of right-wing and liberal governments in the region, as well as for the European Commission.

Recently, governments in some European countries have floated similar schemes for asylum seekers or migrants arriving “illegally.” German and Greek authorities, for example, have pursued the introduction of “return hubs” in African states as “deterrents” to irregular migration. “Imagine taking an Egyptian and sending him to Uganda,” Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris was quoted saying by Politico last month.

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The trends have been denounced at both national and EU levels, with critics warning that implementing such changes would place thousands of people, already living in extremely dangerous and precarious situations, at additional risk. Activists have also criticized EU institutions and countries for pursuing reforms that stand in complete opposition to basic human rights and law.

“By backing these two dossiers, the ‘Holy Alliance’ between conservatives (EPP) and the far right shows itself once again firmly united whenever it comes to waging war on migration and on human rights,” Italian MEP Ilaria Salis warned. “Across Europe, a reactionary and racist agenda is being aggressively imposed, turning the continent more and more into a closed and decaying Fortress Europe.” France Unbowed MEP Damien Carême added: “This is now the new method in European migration and asylum policy: if European law does not allow violations of fundamental rights, then let’s change the law.”

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