EU member states says its aiming to tighten the rules for asylum-seekers whose claims have been rejected and process deportations more efficiently.

This is according to plans announced on Monday.

“Three in four irregular migrants who have been issued a return decision in the EU, continue to stay here instead of returning home,” said Danish Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund who chaired the talks.

“I believe the new set of rules significantly can help improve these numbers,” he added.

The agreement struck at a meeting of EU interior ministers in Brussels will mean that people without the right to stay in the EU will for the first time be subject to new obligations, Stoklund said.

Failed asylum-seekers will face penalties if they fail to actively cooperate in the deportation process or to present identification documents immediately upon request.

Penalties can include a reduction in benefits, a longer entry ban, or in some cases imprisonment.

In addition, stricter rules are to apply to people who are categorised as a security risk.

The agreement also opens the way for migrant return centres in third countries.

Additionally, EU countries can, on a voluntary basis, recognise and enforce a deportation decisions taken in another EU country without having to start the procedure of issuing a new return decision.

The details of the new rules are to be finalised in negotiations with the European Parliament.

However, no major changes are expected.

According to the EU Asylum Agency, the German authorities received 70,000 applications from new arrivals in the first half of the year.

This puts Germany in third place within the EU behind France (78,000) and Spain (77,000).

Despite strong criticism from more than 200 organisations, the key elements of the European Commission’s proposals will likely become law.

The Council will now negotiate its positions with the European Parliament to agree the final legal texts. Parliament has not agreed its final position but recent drafts retain the same elements.

EU countries also agreed on their “solidarity pool” for 2026 in which they can decide whether to help Mediterranean states with 21,000 relocations, 420 million euros in funds or other measures.

Under the asylum rules, ‘an EU country will be able to reject an asylum application if the person could have received protection in a country the EU considers safe.’