15 EU countries call for tightening of refugee policies

Fifteen EU member states have proposed increased controls on migrants, including sending undocumented migrants to third countries, even in cases of rescue at sea.

The proposal was made in a letter sent to the European Commission (EC) on May 16, about a month before the European Parliament elections.

The letter calls on the EC to come up with new ways and solutions to stop the wave of illegal migration into Europe.

Specifically, the countries proposed speeding up checks on undocumented migrants, establishing new detention centers in border areas and faster deportation of rejected asylum seekers.

In the letter, the 15 countries propose to put in place mechanisms to detect, intercept or rescue migrants at sea in emergency situations and bring them to a pre-determined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU.

These countries believe it should be easier to send asylum seekers to third countries while they await the consideration of their protection claims.

Letter calls for reassessment of the concept of a “safe third country” in EU asylum law.

EU law states that people arriving in the bloc without documents can be sent to a third country where they can claim asylum – as long as that country is deemed safe and the asylum seeker has a genuine connection to it.

Fifteen countries called on the EU to sign agreements with third countries located along main migration routes, similar to the 2016 EU-Türkiye deal.

The countries signing the letter include Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland and Romania.