SPAIN has rejected an EU proposal that would make it easier to expel migrants from European countries – in an act of defiance that left it standing alone against all other member states.
Interior Ministers from across the EU discussed yesterday (Monday) a new draft regulation allowing member states to send migrants back to their home countries – or even to ‘safe third countries’ they have no connection to – faster than ever before.
But Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the plan risked putting migrants in danger, arguing that receiving countries might not provide adequate protection or access to legal rights.
He added the proposal could also violate international law, which prohibits returning people to places where they may face persecution or serious harm.
“We cannot accept measures that could endanger people or bypass our legal obligations,” Grande-Marlaska said.
The draft included two main clauses: the ‘return regulation’ and the ‘safe third country’ rule.
The return regulation aims to create an EU-wide set of rules for returning migrants whose asylum requests have been rejected.
It would allow one EU country to enforce a return decision made by another, preventing migrants from skirting return by moving across different member states.
The ‘safe third country rule’ would allow sending asylum seekers to countries outside the EU, even if they have no connection there.
Spain opposed both clauses, warning they could place migrants in unsafe situations beyond EU borders.
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However, the draft still needs approval from the European Parliament before it can become law.
The proposal was first presented by the European Commission in March 2025.
On 8 December 2025, most EU ministers agreed on the Council’s position – but Spain did not.
The agreement featured a list of “safe countries of origin,” including Morocco, Tunisia, India, Bangladesh, Colombia, Kosovo, and Egypt.
Migrants from these countries would face fast-track asylum procedures – meaning their applications would be examined more quickly, and be rejected faster, than normal cases.
The plan also allows EU states to make agreements with third countries to host migrants temporarily while return procedures are carried out inside the union – meaning migrants might stay outside the EU while authorities arrange their return home.
Human-rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have warned the proposals could violate asylum rights and increase the use of detention.
Spain’s vote highlights its focus on protecting migrants’ safety and upholding international law.
Over the past three years, Spain has taken in nearly 1,5 million immigrants – as many as the next four EU countries combined, according to Eurostat.
A study by Spanish social research institute Opina 360 estimated that by 2035, the combined total of foreign-born and second-generation residents in Spain could exceed 34% of the population.
The EU crafted the regulation in a bid to speed up returns. Currently, only about 20–25% of return orders are actually carried out – with the rest of the migrants remaining in the EU, often without legal status.
