Main information
- Belgium supports the EU plan aimed at returning asylum seekers to these “safe third countries”.
- Asylum seekers can be returned to a “secure third country” that they have crossed during their trip.
- This policy aims to discourage the “asylum shopping” and to encourage people to request protection in the first sure country they reach.
The Federal Minister of Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), insisted on radio 1 on the fact that asylum must be a question of protection and not of choice of the most advantageous destination. She discussed the concept of “safe third countries” with her European counterparts at an informal summit in Denmark. This concept aims to allow the return of asylum seekers to a country they have gone through and which offers them security. Belgium supports this proposal from the European Commission, as previously agreed within the government.
Safety third country
Van Bossuyt highlighted an essential change: asylum seekers no longer need to have a link with the third country. It may be a transit country or a country with which the European Commission has entered into an agreement.
She cited the example of Tunisia. If they are deemed safe, people from Africa who have passed through Tunisia could be returned to it if their asylum application in Belgium is rejected. The Belgian government is currently assessing the “safe third countries” likely to offer effective protection and respect human rights.
Asylum control and migration
Van Bossuyt underlined the need for increased asylum and migration control, saying that “shopping for asylum” in the end of the people concerned. She stressed that people fleeing the war or persecution should request protection in the first sure country they reach, rather than going to a more desirable destination.