The establishment of a common approach at EU level to the designation of safe countries of origin and safe third countries is being considered in the context of discussions on a proposal for a Council directive on minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawal of refugee status.
At the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 2 and 3 October 2003, there was general agreement that the proposed directive should include a mechanism for the establishment of a minimum common list of safe countries of origin binding on all member states. The intention is that the list will be established after consultation with the European Parliament. The proposed directive also makes provision for member states to establish national lists designating states as safe countries of origin which may include countries not on the common list.
There was also agreement at the JHA Council that discussions should continue on the establishment of common EU criteria providing for the national designation of countries as safe third countries. While I am aware of the views on these proposals put forward by both NGOs and the UNHCR in the context of discussions on the proposed directive, I would point out that both the safe country of origin and safe third country principles are supported by Ireland and were included in the recent amendments to the Refugee Act 1996 contained in the Immigration Act 2003, which were commenced on 15 September 2003. They are also applied in a number of other EU states.
Discussions on these proposals will continue at EU working party level over the coming weeks. The European Council at its meeting at Thessaloniki set a deadline of 31 December 2003 for the adoption of this directive.
