According to the results of the German Interior Ministry evaluation, asylum procedures can theoretically be outsourced to countries outside the EU, but in fact it is not easy to implement.
The Ministry considers three options for the so-called third-country approach, namely the Rwandan model, the Albanian model and the away model.
The UK’s Rwanda model envisages transferring asylum seekers to another country (in this case Rwanda) and they will then proceed through the asylum procedure. It has since been scrapped.
Italy developed the Albanian model, requiring certain crew members to be placed in Albanian camps until their asylum application is decided. This has been blocked by multiple Italian court rulings.
Finally, the away model will check protection requirements within the transit country before someone arrives in European soil.
“All models appear legally possible in some cases, with significant legal changes in some cases,” the report concluded. But in fact, in some cases, they are associated with considerable difficulties.
The ministry said in a statement that it is “unrealistic” to apply the third-country model to a large number of asylum seekers.
If the link between an asylum seeker and a third country (such as family relations or previous residence in that country) also applies, this is already provided in the European Public Asylum System (CEAS) reform.
“Cooperation with third countries may be another basis for restricting irregular immigration,” said Nancy Faeser, acting German interior minister.
However, UK experience shows that “this attempt can also incur huge costs and fail in general.” This must be taken into account in a realistic assessment.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the asylum clause summarized by the former Conservative government and Rwanda cost taxpayers more than £700 million (about $929 million). The new Labour government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer overturned the asylum convention.
