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Confusion over Greece’s obligation to recognize Turkey as a “safe third country”, as draft bill is on the wait.
By Irene Kostaki, New Europe
Greece is the only EU member state expected to draft a bill that recognizes Turkey as a “safe” third country.
The bill follows the recent EU-Turkey agreement facilitating the return of asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey. Both European Commission and Greek government sources confirm that this “new deal” is expected to be operational from April 4.
In effect, it is bilateral cooperation between Greece and Turkey alone that is key to the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement. Therefore, the conclusion of the EU-Turkey summit did contain a commitment to collective EU recognition of Turkey as “safe.” However, this does not legally preclude Greece going ahead as specified by the European Commission’s spokesperson for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Natasha Bertaud.
However, the Greek government’s spokesperson Olga Gerovasili suggested on Tuesday’s press briefing that the draft bill will not in fact provide for a blanket recognition of Turkey as a “safe third country”. “If that were necessary, then we should legislate. It’s not necessary and there is no such clause in the draft bill to be introduced.” “For every refugee, there are different sets of criteria by which to distinguish which country is safe. This applies to any country, not just on Turkey,” Gerovasili said.
European sources confirmed to New Europe that if the framework set by the EU – Turkey agreement is upheld, there may indeed be no need for Greece “to brand Turkey a safe third country.”
According to Greek government sources, the draft bill to be introduced within the week will essentially harmonize national legislation with the revised European Directive 2013/32, which specifies the criteria a country must meet to be considered “a safe third country.”
The bill is also expected to simplify and expedite asylum procedures, so that the whole process does not exceed 14 days in total, from the day the application is submitted. The plan is for all applications to be processed within a week, allowing for a second week for the examination of any appeal. The second step to the procedure wil be the reorganization of the Asylum Service that will operate regionally, as new offices are expected to open in Attica, Thessaloniki, Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Western Greece, Crete, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Rhodes islands. Finally, the bill will establish a Directorate of Social Integration, in order to assist refugees and migrants to integrate in Greek society.
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