Segnalazione da Diritti Comparati - Italy’s ‘safe countries of origin’ legislation under CJEU scrutiny: challenging the (un)safety

Segnalazione da Diritti Comparati - Italy’s ‘safe countries of origin’ legislation under CJEU scrutiny: challenging the (un)safety

 

With the decisions issued on 15 May 2024, the first-tier Court of Florence submitted two preliminary references to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concerning Italian legislation on ‘safe countries of origin’. The Italian judges asked the CJEU to clarify whether EU law should be interpreted in a way that precludes national legislation, such as the Italian one, which permits the declaration of a third country as a safe country of origin with the exclusion of certain categories of at-risk people.
The issue raised by the Court of Florence is significant also considering the recently approved Regulation (EU) 2024/1348, which will be applicable from 12 June 2026 and allows both the EU and Member States to designate third countries as safe countries of origin. This Regulation offers a slightly different discipline on this matter, but it is likely that the solution adopted by the CJEU in the cases referred by the Court of Florence will also influence its interpretation. (...)