20 August 2025
Safe for Everyone?
On 1 August, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered its much-anticipated judgment, addressing the interpretation of the “safe country of origin” (SCO) concept under the Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32 (APD). Contrary to AG de la Tour, the Court firmly ruled that Member States cannot designate a country as “safe” unless it provides adequate protection to its entire population. Ultimately, the Court’s judgment effectively preserves the current protection until the EU legislator fully exercises its prerogative to amend the rules. Continue reading >>
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27 June 2025
Managing Migration the Italian Way II
Eight months after first exploring the legal contours of the “innovative” Italy-Albania Protocol and its temporary suspension following the Court of Rome’s refusal to validate the detention of the first group of asylum applicants transferred to Albania, this post turns to a new and potentially game-changing development: a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), submitted by the Italian Court of Cassation on 20 June 2025. The referral raises doubts about the compatibility of the scheme with both the Return Directive (RD) and the Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). This move adds fresh legal uncertainty to a deal already under intense scrutiny and could significantly impact its implementation. Continue reading >>
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23 May 2024
Nigeria as a Safe Country of Origin?
On May 7th 2024 Italy updated its list of safe countries of origin (SCO) for the second time after the introduction of the notion in the national legal system in 2019. Notably, the latest update retained the most contentious addition to the list from last year, Nigeria. Until then, only Cyprus considered Nigeria as generally safe. The legal issues underlying this designation illustrate how country of origin information (COI), largely provided to Member States by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), is (mis)used to produce policy-based evidence rather than evidence-based policies. Continue reading >>
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