The EU Council advances reforms regarding what constitutes asylum—officially approves the first list of safe countries

The European Council has officially approved the first unified list of safe countries of origin across the entire EU. According to financial information service Jin10, this historic measure aims to significantly improve the efficiency of the asylum system throughout Europe.

Asylum is a system that allows people fleeing conflict or persecution to seek protection in other countries. Previously, each EU member state reviewed asylum applications independently, leading to inconsistent responses. This reform is an important step toward streamlining these complex asylum procedures and speeding up application processing.

The Council also revised the definition of “safe third countries” and established clearer criteria. This will enable more efficient verification of applicants’ identities and risk assessments. Such measures are part of a comprehensive strategy to effectively manage immigration within the EU.

With this new list of safe countries, transparency in the asylum system will improve, and standards among member states will be unified. As a result, legitimate asylum seekers are expected to be processed more quickly, while security concerns are also likely to be reduced. The European Council’s decision marks a turning point in the EU’s approach to asylum and refugee issues.