Minister Van Bossuyt announces government decision on 2025 safe countries of origin list
During a session of the Chamber of Representatives’ Interior Committee on 2 December 2025, Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt outlined the government’s decision regarding the list of safe countries of origin. She specified which countries are included in the 2025 list and explained that Morocco was added due to improvements in its human rights situation and the low recognition rate for asylum applications from Moroccan nationals.
Belgium establishes an annual list of safe countries of origin, based on non-binding recommendations from the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS). According to the CGRS, a country of origin is considered safe if there is, generally and consistently, no persecution and if there is no risk of suffering serious harm. Belgium last updated this list on 12 May 2024, and it was published in the Belgian Official Journal on 27 May 2024. The list allows authorities to process applications from nationals of safe countries more rapidly, while prioritising cases from other countries where protection needs are higher.
Minister Van Bossuyt stated that the government has now decided to include Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Morocco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia in the 2025 list. Compared with the current list in force, this represents the addition of Morocco and the removal of India and Moldova. The decision was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 21 November. While the CGRS had given positive advice for most of these countries, the recommendation for Morocco was initially negative. The Minister highlighted that the human rights situation in Morocco has improved in recent years, and that the recognition rate for asylum applications from Moroccan nationals is currently around 5%.
The Minister also referred to the European Commission’s proposal for a common EU list of safe countries of origin. According to the proposal, the following non-EU countries should be designated as safe at EU level: Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco, and Tunisia. The proposal is part of the 2024 Migration and Asylum Pact and is currently under discussion in the Council, aiming to allow Member States to apply accelerated procedures for applicants from these countries once the list is adopted.
For more details, please refer to the full minutes (in French and Dutch) of the Interior, Security, Migration and Administrative Affairs Committee session of 2 December 2025 that is attached below.