EU Court blocks partial 'safe' zones for refugee returns

The European Court of Justice has ruled against the fragmentation of third countries into "safe" and "unsafe" areas, a decision that affects efforts by Germany and Cyprus to deport Syrian refugees to parts of Syria.

According to Pavlos Xanthoullis' article published in Kathimerini Cyprus in Greek, the court's ruling, which is binding across the European Union, came in response to a case involving Moldova but sets a precedent that impacts the broader issue of designating countries as safe for refugee returns.

The court found that EU law does not allow member states to designate only part of a third country as a "safe country of origin," citing Article 37 of Directive 2013/32. This ruling complicates efforts by Germany and Cyprus, which had hoped to return Syrian refugees to designated "safe" areas in Syria, such as the Hasaka region. The court ruled that such a designation must apply to the entire territory of a country, not just specific parts.

The decision holds significant legal and political implications. It overturns a ruling by Germany’s Supreme Administrative Court, which had previously allowed the designation of some areas of Syria as safe for deportations. The German government, along with the opposition Christian Democrats, had supported this ruling as part of their broader strategy to return Syrian refugees.

Politically, the court’s decision could affect Germany's approach to migration, especially with federal elections on the horizon in 2025. While Germany typically complies with European court rulings, the growing political pressure around migration may push Berlin to prioritize its national interests. This ruling also affects Cyprus, which had aligned with Germany in hopes of facilitating returns of Syrian refugees from its territory.

The ruling stemmed from a preliminary question raised by a Czech court regarding Moldova, specifically whether Transnistria—a breakaway region controlled by Russian-backed militias—could be excluded from Moldova's designation as a safe country of origin. The court rejected this notion, reinforcing that the criteria for designating a country as safe must apply uniformly to the entire territory.

The judgment underscores that third countries cannot be partially designated as safe, a precedent that will impact future migration and asylum policies across the European Union.