EU updates - December 2025/February 2026

Adoption of the concept of "safe third countries" and the European list of "safe countries of origin": facilitation of deportations and infringement of the right to asylum

On 10 February 2026, the European Parliament approved a legislative text extendingthe concept of ’safe third country’, as provided for in the European Pact on Migration and Asylum. This reform, as well as the return regulation, removes the need for a connection between the rejected asylum seeker and the country of return, allowing member states to return people to countries they have never visited, provided that a formal or informal agreement exists, and that the country is considered "safe". As Euronews explains, the vote (396 in favour, 226 against, 30 abstentions) was possible thanks to the alliance between the EPP (centre-right party) and far-right political groups such as the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Patriots for Europe and the Europe of Sovereign Nations group. In addition, if a person challenges the decision of inadmissibility of his or her application for protection based on the concept of ’safe third country’, his or her appeal will no longer automatically have suspensive effect. They can therefore be deported to the non-EU country without waiting for the final decision on her appeal. Finally, the Parliament also adopted a European list of "safe countries of origin", including Bangladesh, Tunisia, Morocco, Kosovo, Colombia, Egypt and India. Any asylum-seeker who is a national of these countries will be subject to an accelerated procedure.

The return regulation: between procedural abuses and externalisation of deportations

A new objective: to create "platforms for deportations outside Europe"

The three countries that carried out the most deportations on a European scale between July and September 2025 are Germany, France and Cyprus, the media Politico revealed on January 22, 2026. Under the Cypriot Presidency of the EU, the Ministers of the Interior met in Nicosia to discuss the "return" regulation. In the margins of the meeting, a side event was held on 22 January 2026, chaired by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, bringing together his counterparts from the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Greece, as well as European Commissioner Magnus Brunner. The aim was to launch negotiations on the creation of deportation platforms, such as ’return hubs’, outside Europe.

Negotiations on the return regulation: the influence of the far right in the European Parliament

According to an article in the Euobserverpublished on 23 January 2026, the negotiations in the European Parliament on the proposal for the ’return’ regulation - which began on 12 January - are moving towards an alliance in favour of the regulation, ranging from the centre to the far right. Indeed, the lead negotiator for the liberal Renew Europe political group, MEP Malik Azmani, is said to have accepted far-right amendments weakening procedural safeguards allowing exiled people to challenge deportation orders. Finally, according to the media’s sources, he has passed amendments from the far-right group EfP without mentioning their origin. This example of a process shows the influence of far-right groups in the Parliament in shaping European migration policies.

UN warns against proposed return regulation

On 26 January 2026, 16 UN independent rapporteurs published a report on the proposed return regulation. The main concerns relate to possible violations of international law, including the principle of non-refoulement and the weakening of procedural safeguards. Other points such as the extension of the grounds for detention, the forced "cooperation" of migrants to their own deportations, and the creation of extraterritorial "return hubs" are the subject of concern.

Externalising asylum, exporting borders: the consolidation of the externalisation of the EU

"Innovative solutions": disembarking people at sea in non-EU countries

Statewatch published an internal document dated 7 November 2025, sent by the Danish Presidency to the Council of the EU, on the creation of "innovative solutions" at the European level. The aim of the document is to propose a new form of arrangements with non-EU countries to limit crossings in the Mediterranean. These would create "places of safety" in order to outsource the responsibilities of processing asylum applications, which are the responsibility of the European States of first reception, via the Dublin Regulation. In this "innovative solution", people intercepted in the Mediterranean would be forced to disembark in a non-EU country and apply for international protection there (or in another non-EU country participating in the arrangement), which would be responsible for examining their asylum applications. However, if they do not seek protection, they could be returned directly to their country of origin or to a country with which the country of first reception has made an arrangement. The EU would provide financial support to non-EU countries that would accept this form of arrangement, and would deploy European agencies in these areas (Frontex and the asylum agency). To carry out this project, the Danish Presidency proposes to use the new Pact for the Mediterranean, concluded in autumn 2025, as a basis for negotiations with non-EU countries.

EU ministers pressure Commission to step up externalisation

On 16 December 2025, a joint letter from some EU ministers was sent to the European Commission urging it to strengthen collaboration with non-EU states. Three key points were highlighted: the need to take into account ’innovative solutions’ in the future multiannual financial framework; the importance of reforming European agencies such as Frontex or the asylum agency so that they can "provide effective support" in the implementation of these new "solutions"; Finally, a joint ’diplomatic action’ bringing together the European Commission, the Member States and the EU’s diplomatic service to negotiate new partnerships with non-EU states.

Funding reconstruction in Syria to return Syrian refugees

The Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council visited Damascus on 8 January to announce €620 million in aid to Syria to help restore necessary services. This aid has a specific objective, as Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, said on 13 January: "It will also help to create conditions more conducive to the voluntary return of the very many Syrians who have been forced to leave the country." These words, collected by Euobserver, show the EU’s willingness to start the return of Syrian people. ’Voluntary’ departures have already started in Cyprus (1400 Syrians) and Germany (300 Syrians) between July and September 2025. However, these ’voluntary’ returns from Cyprus are described by civil society organisations as "coercion by misery" in reference to the precarious conditions of people on the island, and the €1,500 allocated to people who agree to leave.

A visa and migration strategy that reinforces an uneven right to mobility

The European Commission’s new ’visa and migration’ strategy was unveiled on 29 January 2026. This roadmap uses the same means and objectives as those of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. Indeed, according to the media Politico, the migration strategy will be based on cooperation with non-EU states, a strengthening of surveillance at European borders, the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, an "effective" ’return’ policy, and finally the mobility of ’talent’. The Visa Roadmapunveiled by the Commission proposes enhanced control of visa-free regimes and creates a new category of restrictive measures to strengthen visa diplomacy. Indeed, as mentioned in the Commission’s February 2021 evaluation report on the "performance" of third countries in terms of readmissions-expulsions, states that are not cooperative in terms of readmission may be sanctioned by suspending/reducing the number of visas issued or increasing visa costs. In addition, the Commission would like to prioritise visa procedures for ’high value-added’ people. The profiles concernedare researchers, for graduates in science, technology, engineering or mathematics or for entrepreneurs in certain sectors of activity such as AI or cybersecurity. In addition, a dedicated visa office within Frontex will be created to facilitate the training of consular officers, and could even send "additional temporary staff to help overcrowded consulates during peak periods" according to EURACTIV.

EU continues to fund Libyan militias

The EU plans to finance, to the tune of €3 million, the creation of a, MRCC in Benghazi in eastern Libya, according to an article published on 29 January 2026 by Infomigrant. This ’rescue’ centre would have the same objectives as the one in Tripoli (created in 2017), i.e. to intercept people exiled at sea and push them back to the Libyan coast where people are notoriously subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment. Concerns remain about who would be entrusted with the management of this centre. Indeed, in eastern Libya, the Tariq-Ben-Zeyad militia, active in this area of the country, could be linked to the management of the MRCC. However, this same militia is suspected of being responsible for the armed attack on the Ocean Viking in October 2025.

European ’solidarity’: not for reception but for deportations

Resettlements and relocations in free fall

On 12 January 2026, the Euobserverpublished an article concerning the fall in promises of refugee resettlement and relocation of asylum seekers by Member States, again demonstrating a hardening of migration policies, and their desire "not to welcome or protect". For example, 18 Member States, including Germany, refuse to commit to resettlement quotas. Indeed, the Member States have only committed 10,430 places for 2026-2027, a drop of 83% compared to 2024-2025. Germany, which had promised 13,000 places in 2024, is now offering none. On the other hand, the European Commission was aiming for 21,000 relocations but only obtained 9,000 commitments. Hungary and Slovakia, having promised nothing, are going against the system of solidarity desired by the Commission.

A system of "solidarity" between member states to better deport migrants

In an article published on 30 January 2026, Euobserver questions the possibility of creating a new form of ’solidarity’, this time on deportations. By using the term ’solidarity’, the media is referring to the European solidarity system that should allow for a better distribution of asylum seekers between Member States of first reception, such as Greece and Italy, and countries of destination, such as Germany or France. The media mentions a European Commission project dating from 2020, which would consist of creating a ’relocation’ system to deport migrants. This system would concern persons who are the subject of a return order, and the Member State which has an agreement or privileged links with the person’s country of origin. The Member State in question would therefore take charge of nationals of specific countries, to implement their expulsion. It is possible that this procedure will be mentioned in a policy note to be published in March by the European Commission.

News from Frontex

The ECJ recognises Frontex’s responsibility in the pushback operations

On 18 December 2025, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered two major judgments annulling decisions of the General Court in the cases of WS and others v. Frontex and Hamoudi v. Frontex. On January 6, 2026, the European law blogpublished an article on the scope of these judgments. Indeed, these decisions mark a turning point by explicitly recognising the vulnerability of asylum seekers and adapting legal rules to this reality. These two decisions strengthen Frontex’s legal responsibility in pushback operations. Both cases were remitted to the General Tribunal for reconsideration.

Attacks against humain rights

Pressure from Member States against the European Convention on Human Rights

On 23 February 2026, Politicoreported that the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, defended the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHRC), in the face of pressure from some member states that criticised the ECHR’s overly broad interpretation of the ECtHR, ultimately calling for more flexibility to divest themselves of basic guarantees in the law of foreigners. Thus, in May 2025, nine EU member states signed an open letter, on an initiative by Italy and Denmark, calling for "launching a new and open-minded discussion on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights". Then, in December 2025, the Danish and British prime ministers published an op-ed calling for a reform of the text. In addition, on 10 December 2025, 46 Council of Europe ministers adopted a set of conclusions calling for the development of a political declaration linking migration, public security and the ECtHR. It is expected to be adopted at the Chișinău summit in the Republic of Moldova in May 2026. According to O’Flaerty, weakening the protection of people’s rights would be a dangerous historical precedent