EU proposes allowing deportation of asylum seekers to third countries

Migrants line up to eat at the Las Raices migrant camp in La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife, Spain, October 27, 2024. 

Photo credit: Reuters

The European Union executive on Tuesday proposed amending EU law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection, a move rights groups say would undermine the right to asylum.

The European Commission said the changes, which would let countries remove an asylum applicant if they could be sent to a third country deemed safe by the EU, would "accelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems".