Bucharest [Romania], March 7: The European People's Party (EPP), the European Parliament's main center-right grouping, has proposed major changes to the European Union (EU)'s asylum system, including the possibility of deporting asylum seekers to "safe third countries."
Presented during their Congress in Bucharest, Romania, the EPP manifesto emphasizes the right for the EU and its member states to determine where and to whom asylum is granted.
Under the proposed plan, asylum seekers applying in the EU could be transferred to "designated safe third countries" to undergo the asylum process. If granted protection, applicants would receive it in the respective third country.
The policy document stresses the importance of establishing comprehensive contractual agreements with "safe third countries", with criteria aligning with international obligations such as the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The manifesto echoes the policy stance advocated by Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the party from which Ursula von der Leyen, the current head of the European Commission, comes.
When asked about von der Leyen's stance on the new position, EPP President Manfred Weber said the policies had been worked out with all the parties in the EPP political group, which includes von der Leyen's Christian Democrat Union.
This proposal comes as a response to heightened migration pressure, with over 1 million asylum applications submitted in the EU in 2023, primarily from Syrians and Afghans.
The EU has recently agreed on a broad reform of its migration and asylum policy aimed at combating illegal immigration, which included strengthened border controls and a mandatory mechanism of solidarity among member countries in accommodating asylum seekers.
The EPP is convening in Bucharest to nominate Ursula von der Leyen to lead the EPP list in the upcoming European elections, signaling a potential five-year extension of her tenure at the helm of the European Commission.
Source: Xinhua