EU votes to allow deportation of migrants to ‘safe’ third countries 

European Parliament passed new legislation letting member states deport migrants to designated “safe” countries outside the EU even if they are not from those nations.

European lawmakers approved the measure on Tuesday with a vote of 396‑226 as centre and far-right members backed it.

Under the new rules, EU states will be able to send asylum seekers to third countries they merely transited through, provided those countries are deemed to respect “international standards” for migrant treatment.

They could also deport asylum seekers to “safe” third countries with which they have no prior ties, if an agreement is reached with the host state, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported. The rules are expected to take effect in June.

The move underlines the rise in anti-immigration sentiment across the European Union over ⁠the past decade that has broadened popular support for far-right parties.

The legislation’s text – which requires final formal approval from the 27 EU member governments – marks a sharp hardening of EU migration policy that has taken shape since an influx of more than one million refugees and migrants in 2015-16.

Rights groups warned the policy could be used to deport migrants to countries where they have no ties and can be mistreated.

“The new ‘safe third country’ rules are likely to force people to countries they may never have set foot in – places where they have no community, do not speak the language, and face a very real risk of abuse and exploitation,” said Meron Ameha Knikman, senior adviser for the International Rescue Committee.

During Tuesday’s session, the European Parliament also signed off on a list of “safe countries” including Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia.

Migrants in some of those countries, including Morocco and Tunisia, have reportedly faced widespread abuse and mistreatment, including being expelled into remote desert zones in Tunisia.

Cecilia Strada, an Italian lawmaker in the Socialists and Democrats Group in European Parliament that voted against the designations, said the “so-called ‘safe countries of origin’ are not safe”.

“This parliament has passed resolutions on many of these countries, condemning deteriorations in their rule of law, democracy, and fundamental rights. Today’s vote ignores the reality of the facts,” said Strada.

Last May, the EU endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s asylum system, with the European Commission issuing the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact, among other things, called for increasing deportations and setting up “return hubs” – a euphemism for deportation centres for rejected asylum seekers.

“The text on safe countries of origin will place hundreds of thousands of people in situations of great danger. Third countries will be deemed safe despite an extremely worrying human rights situation,” said French Green lawmaker Melissa Camara.