New anti-asylum laws are likely to be rubber-stamped by the European Parliament amid further alarm over the far-right influence on migration.<\/p>\n
The Strasbourg assembly on Tuesday (10 February) will most likely adopt two new laws that will make it legally easier to deport asylum-seeker hopefuls to countries outside Europe.<\/p>\n
Although both laws hinge on the cooperation of foreign states, the so-called \u201csafe\u201d concepts<\/a> marks a pivotal shift towards a tougher European stance on asylum.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is good news. It looks like Europe is changing its immigration policy,\u201d Alonso de Mendoza Asensi, the spokesperson from the far-right Patriots for Europe (PfE), told reporters last week.<\/p>\n The measures to be voted cover \u201csafe countries of origin\u201d and \u201csafe third countries\u201d concepts.<\/p>\n Under the EU\u2019s \u201csafe third country\u201d rule, authorities can dismiss an asylum application and transfer the applicant to another state \u2014 potentially in the Western Balkans or Africa.<\/p>\n This can happen even if he or she has never been there, had simply transited through or if the country is deemed capable of offering vaguely defined \u201ceffective protection.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU \u201csafe countries of origin\u201d list, meanwhile, allows governments to rapidly deny and return asylum seekers from countries such as Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia.<\/p>\n Smoothing path for Meloni\u2019s Albania deal<\/p>\n Crucially, the origin provision also smooths the way for Italy\u2019s controversial migration agreement with Albania<\/a>, overcoming legal obstacles that had previously stood in its path.<\/p>\n