JRS Europe Statement on the Revision of the Safe Third Country Concept in the EU Migration and Asylum Pact

JRS Europe expresses deep concern over the recent expansion of the “Safe Third Country” (STC) concept within the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. Framed as a tool for efficiency, the reform in fact threatens the right to asylum and the fundamental principles of international protection. By allowing Member States to declare asylum applications inadmissible without requiring a meaningful connection to a so-called safe third country, the new rules risk arbitrary returns, mass detention, and denial of legal remedies.

This approach undermines the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and key provisions of international refugee law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement. It incentivizes externalization of asylum responsibilities to countries with poor human rights records, such as Libya and Tunisia, where migrants face violence, abuse, and unlawful detention.

JRS Europe urges the EU to stop the expansion of the STC mechanism and instead reaffirm its commitment to individualized, fair, and protection-oriented asylum procedures. Europe must uphold its legal and moral duties to those seeking safety, not retreat from them.