An important element is that applications from people from countries considered "safe" can be assessed and rejected more quickly. The idea behind this is that procedures can be shortened. This mainly concerns applicants from Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, Tunisia, and Kosovo.
What exactly "safe" means and how often the list of 'safe countries' can be adjusted in the meantime is still unclear.
Another aspect that will soon play a role is where someone can be 'temporarily' sent while waiting for the processing of his/her asylum request. The plans involve sending applicants to a country outside the EU that is considered safe, even if it is not their country of origin.
According to critics, how it will be monitored whether someone actually receives protection in that temporary host country has not yet been elaborated.
A second part of the proposal now approved by EU ministers and EU politicians is return: the faster deportation of people who have not been granted the right to stay. According to the European Commission, ‘three out of four’ rejected asylum seekers do not return to their own country after a rejection. The plans aim to change that.
Stricter measures are mentioned for this, such as the ability to detain people longer while awaiting departure, stricter or longer entry bans, and new obligations for undocumented persons who must leave. According to critics, the safeguards in such situations and how supervision is organized have not yet been established.
Human rights and legal protection remain recurring points of contention. Concerns are raised about detention, deportation, and sending people to countries outside the EU, while it is also emphasized that rights must be respected. In parts, precise explanation of how this is implemented in practice is still lacking.
Politically, the immigration package is controversial: the center-right and conservative groups received support from radical or far-right parties, which led to criticism and accusations of ‘collaboration from the right’ by liberal and center-left groups. At the same time, proponents stress that stricter policies are needed to control migration.
The EU countries have not yet agreed on an important aspect of the new approach: the distribution of housing for admitted asylum seekers across the 27 EU countries. Some EU countries do not want to take over asylum seekers from other EU countries. In that case, such countries refusing to accept will have to contribute financially to the accommodation of asylum seekers in those other EU countries.