We’ve joined more than 50 civil society organisations calling on the EU and its member states to firmly reject any attempts to weaken protection for asylum seekers.

With its recent ‘safe country’ and returns proposals “the EU seems to be seeking to shift responsibility for refugee protection onto countries outside its borders and sidestep its legal obligations under the Refugee Convention and EU law”.

This isn’t a decision taken in isolation. It appears to be part of a broader, interconnected strategy to externalise the EU’s migration management. It both signals a retreat from Europe’s commitment to asylum, and risks contributing to a worrying erosion of refugee protection globally.

Read the full statement here: