Safe countries of origin and safe third countries

European Union law provides for the use of the “safe country of origin” and “safe third country” concepts by EU Member States in examining international protection applications. Based on contributions from 25 EMN Member Countries and Serbia, this EMN inform compares national policies and practices for designating safe countries of origin and safe third countries with a view to supporting legislators to understand and implement the changes required by the new Asylum Procedure Regulation set to be applied from June 2026.