European Commission to Designate Egypt and Bangladesh as ‘Safe’ Countries’
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The European Commission is poised to add Egypt and Bangladesh to its provisional list of safe countries for migrant repatriation, according to a draft document obtained by ANSA.
The list, which will be circulated to EU member states in the coming hours, marks a significant step in aligning judicial standards across the bloc and could serve as a crucial catalyst for Italy’s stalled migration policy innovation.
The inclusion of these two populous nations comes after a period of legal uncertainty that stymied Italy’s pioneering—but controversial—scheme to transfer migrants to Albania for offshore processing.
Italian courts, citing a European Court of Justice (ECJ) precedent, blocked the relocation of the initial three groups of migrants, all of whom were Egyptian or Bangladeshi nationals. The court’s rationale: the entire national territories of those origin countries had not yet been formally designated as “safe.”
This legal snag temporarily froze implementation of the Italy-Albania migration protocol, a bilateral agreement signed last year to process non-EU migrants intercepted at sea in two Italian-run centres on Albanian soil. The model, lauded by some as a forward-thinking deterrent against irregular migration and criticized by others as an outsourcing of responsibility, has drawn notable interest across the continent.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed strong support for the arrangement, and several EU capitals—as well as the United Kingdom—are closely monitoring its development.
In response to the judicial setback, Rome repurposed the first operational facility in Albania. Initially intended as a processing hub, it has now been redesignated as a Centro di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio (CPR)—a holding and repatriation center—for migrants who are already in Italy’s own CPR network.
On Friday, the first group of 40 individuals was transferred to the site, signaling the Italian government’s determination to sustain momentum despite early legal hurdles.
The addition of Egypt and Bangladesh to the EU’s safe-country list is expected to shore up the legal foundations of the Albania protocol, allowing Rome to resume migrant transfers with greater judicial confidence. However, practical questions remain—not least regarding oversight, conditions, and the long-term efficacy of offshoring migration management.
As the Commission advances this proposal and member states weigh its implications, the broader debate over migration governance in the EU continues to unfold. The enduring challenge will be striking a balance between deterrence and due process—a task that, for all its political urgency, demands a sober and methodical approach.
