Athens, Greece, 17 March 2022 — March 2022 marks six years since the launch of the EU-Turkey Statement, which stipulated that people crossing irregularly to the Greek islands from Turkey would be returned there without having their asylum claims considered on merits in Greece. The Statement has become a hallmark of the EU shirking its responsibility to protect refugees, and continues to cause significant harm to people seeking protection in Greece.
The impact of the EU-Turkey Statement was worsened in June 2021 by the Greek government’s own decision to designate Turkey as a ‘safe third country’ of asylum to which it would return people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria – the five nationalities that represented the majority of asylum applications in Greece last year.
In a new briefing, eight NGOs are calling on Greece and the EU to retract the EU-Turkey Statement and abandon the safe third country concept.
As Turkey has not accepted any returns since 2020, thousands of rejected asylum seekers are now stuck in legal limbo in Greece, where they have no right to housing, cash assistance or work.
Dimitra Kalogeropoulou, International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) Greece Country Director, says:
“The EU-Turkey Statement and subsequent designation of Turkey as a ‘safe third country’ are both efforts to limit access to a fair and effective asylum procedure. The IRC believes everyone’s asylum application should be examined on its merits, irrespective of where they come from”.
Niamh Nic Carthaigh, IRC’s Director of EU Policy and Advocacy, says:
“The impressive mobilisation of the EU and its member states in response to the arrival of more than 3 million refugees from Ukraine in the past month shows that Europe has the capacity to welcome refugees in a coordinated, fair, and humane way when it has the will. In marked contrast, the EU-Turkey Statement was a panicked response in the face of deep divisions among EU member states. In the absence of a comprehensive system to share responsibility, the primary aim of the Statement, and its successor policies, has been to deter refugee arrivals, causing significant suffering. The example of Ukraine shows that another way is possible - this response, rooted in support and solidarity, should be a guiding light.”
Read the two-page briefing from International Rescue Committee, Danish Refugee Council, Greek Council for Refugees, Greek Forum of Refugees, HumanRights360, Refugees International, Save the Children and Terre des hommes.
Key facts:
- Between March 2016 and March 2020, 2,100 refugees who made the difficult and often very dangerous journey to reach the islands of Greece were returned to Turkey.
- The five nationalities in a Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) of June 2021 accounted for 60% of all asylum applications in the country last year, most of which were successful.
- There were 5,907 rejections of applications as “inadmissible” based on the JMD in 2021
- A 100€ per person fee was introduced in September 2021 for those who wish to re-apply for asylum, including those deemed ‘inadmissible’. This creates a further – and insurmountable – barrier to people’s right to seek asylum.