Crisis and the Greek Asylum System in the Framework of the EU-Turkey Agreement: Legal and Political Aspects/Kriz ve AB-Turkiye Anlasmasi Cercevesinde Yunan Iltica Sistemi: Yasal ve Siyasal Baglam.

• Author: Baxevanis, Christos
• Position: Essay

Introduction: From the European Agenda on Migration to the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal

The Syrian refugee crisis seriously affects European societies, as well as the internal political situation in almost all member-states of the European Union, put to the test the Schengen Treaty and the Dublin rules, as well as highlights the limits and inadequacies, not only for the EU's foreign and security policy but for the national policies of the Member States as well. (1) The Syrian refugees flows is crucial, as "the European Union and Europe as a continent have not been called to face a refugee crisis of this size since the end of the World Word II", as well as "this crisis brought to the forefront the limited mechanisms and responses in place to meet needs in place, the absence of a truly common European asylum space and the flaws of the Dublin Regulation" (2)

The European Agenda on Migration, which emerged following difficult and protracted negotiations among the Member States in May 2015, represented the EU's first attempt to tackle the plight of the thousands of refugees who risk their lives transiting war zones and attempting to cross the Mediterranean. (3) The picture also includes the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 to replace irregular migration with legal channels for resettling refugees within the European Union. Its provisions include:

All "irregular migrants" arriving in Greece from Turkey will, as from 20 March 2016, be returned to Turkey on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the two countries. All those who do not apply for asylum or whose requests are considered unfounded or inadmissible will be returned to Turkey. Greece and Turkey, assisted by EU institutions and agencies, will enter into any necessary bilateral agreements, including one on the permanent presence of Turkish officials on Greek islands and Greek officials in Turkey from 20 March onwards, in order to implement these agreements. For every Syrian returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian will be settled in the EU. A mechanism will be set up to implement the "one for one" principle - in cooperation with the Commission, EU agencies, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Member States--as from the first day that returns start. Priority for resettlement in the EU will be given to Syrians in Turkey rather than in Greece, and of these, priority will be given to migrants who have not previously entered or tried to enter the EU. (4) There is no doubt that since the signing of the EU-Turkey statement, there has been a significant and steady reduction in the number of people unlawfully crossing European borders or losing their lives in the Aegean. (5) The reality, however, is that "the implementation of the agreement that began on April 4 2016, faces serious problems for a number of legal, political and logistical reasons, as it is an agreement characterized as highly complex, extremely technical, and difficult with controversial legal points". (6) Additionally, even though the existing channels are now closed, there is always the danger of migration flows being re-routed: with the closing of the Western Balkans Route, the illegal networks of traffickers might seek an alternative route passing from Greece through Albania to EU, going back through South Italy and/or finally going from Turkey through the Black Sea to Bulgaria.

Last but not least, the failure of the EU to deal with the refugee crisis is deeply political and has to do with the fact that the European policy was developed within an environment of Islamophobic/Xenophobic speech totally connected with a suspicion and a fear of foreigners, especially Muslims. It is worth mentioning that in the European Council conclusions, February 2016, the term 'refugee' was replaced by that of 'migrant' (7) as well as in the EU-Turkey agreement, the term 'refugee' appears four times, while the term 'migrant' and 'irregular migrant' appear ten times. (8) In other words, "at the heart of the EU-Turkey agreement is the goal to discourage irregular crossings by returning most of those who arrive on Greek islands to Turkey following a credible assessment of their asylum claims". (9) Therefore, EU adopt "a dangerous conflation of 'security' with 'deterrence' and with the 'risk of terrorism', a conflation which has direct negative consequences for the European acquis of rights protection and, of course, for those directly affected by European and national policies". (10)

Refugee Crisis in Greece: The Greek Asylum System in the framework of the EU-Turkey agreement

The asylum procedure was, for many years, characterized by a lack of essential procedural guarantees. (11) Greek Law 3907/2011 'Establishment of Asylum Service and First Reception Service, the transposition of the 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals', set up and staffed the new Asylum Service, the new Appeals Authority and the new First Reception Service. The Greek asylum procedure has undergone crucial reforms throughout 2016 by the adoption of the EU-Turkey statement and the adoption of Greek Law 4375/2016 adopted in April 2016. (12)

Greece is invited to carry out an unprecedented administrative, legislative and operational project that has not been undertaken so far. In other words, the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement by the Greek side requires the mobilization of a huge bureaucratic mechanism (judges, police officers, case workers, interpreters). Furthermore, Greek authorities have to deal with a series of urgent needs (accommodation, nutrition, asylum procedures, health) or social integration processes (education, training, access to labour). Despite the fact the Greek Government has made some positive steps in improving the situation in the Aegean islands, the challenges with overcrowding and insecurity remain, not to mention that there are more than 50.000 people being stranded in Greece unable to continue their journey to Europe.

The launch of the EU-Turkey statement and the closure of the Western Balkan route also led to a significant increase of persons willing to apply for asylum who arrived in Greece after 20 March 2016 on the Eastern Aegean islands (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros, Kos). This has led to significant pressure on the Asylum Service, exceeding its capacity and ability to register new asylum claims. In addition, the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement created two different zones in Greece where asylum seekers face two different kinds of reality: either the return of any asylum seeker or migrant from Greece to Turkey, regulated by the EU-Turkey agreement, March 2016 or the possibility of relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to another EU member-state, including the already statutory right of family reunification. (13)

At the same time, there is no organized plan for the refugees and irregular migrants who are already within the Greek territory because of the border closures along the Western Balkan route that caused a bottleneck with more than 50.000 people being stranded in Greece unable to continue their journey to Europe. As the Greek Ombudsman mentions;

The lack of any central planning and coordination of the involved agencies and services, as well as the laxity in implementing the relevant provisions for addressing the situation, in combination with the failure to promptly and appropriately utilize European and domestic resources, are among the key reasons why the problem is created and persists. (14) It has to be outlined at this point that still today, more than a year after the Statement, "there is still no integrated management plan, with a clear, stated and coherent narrative, with milestones and deliverables, targets and time frames of implementation that are complied with" (15)

Asylum seekers arriving after 20 March 2016 are subjected to a fast-track border procedure which does not provide adequate safeguards. According to the L 4375/2016, which has been established this kind of procedure, the examination of the application for international protection at first and second instance should be completed within fourteen days. (16) However, it is worth mentioning that Dublin family cases and vulnerable groups are excluded from the fast-track border procedure. In addition, the launch of the EU-Turkey Statement has a serious impact detention of asylum seekers. In detail, all newly arrived third-country nationals or...