A new report published by the Italian association of juridical studies (ASGI) says that the number of migrant arrivals has reduced in Greek islands. Detentions had gone up and some asylum seekers were not being readmitted in Turkey.
According to a new report by ASGI, the number of refugees coming into Greece was shrinking, asylum procedures were faster but with less guarantees and detentions had gone up. Migrants whose asylum requests had been rejected were also not being readmitted in Turkey. The results were a direct consequence of the EU-Turkey deal to take back refugees. The report is called "The Greek Experiment: an idea of Europe."
The Greek asylum system
One year after the EU-Turkey accord was drafted, a research was carried out in the country in March 2017 with the objective of shedding light on how Greece is increasingly considered a laboratory to experiment and perfect European policies to manage migrant flows.
The report stressed that the EU-Turkey deal had led to a reduction of arrivals in the islands, also due to the closure of the Balkan route. It focused, in particular, on the so-called "evaluation of admissibility," a procedure through which the eligibility of a migrant to apply for asylum is evaluated based on the security of the country of departure - in this case Turkey.
ASGI stressed that in Greece, such an evaluation was extended also to non-Syrian asylum seekers, who in the event of inadmissibility, would not enjoy special protection in Turkey. It also noted that in the future, the evaluation could be extended to "vulnerable asylum seekers or those who could join family in other EU countries." Greece is awaiting the final decision of the Council of State on the definition of Greece as a "safe country."
Unfulfilled agreement
The report also noted that in the country there is a "persistent application of the so-called border procedure for asylum seekers who land in the Aegean islands from Turkey." The procedure is an accelerated asylum application that provides for a detention of up to 28 days.
ASGI noted that the agreement is not implemented in the part providing for the readmission in Turkey of asylum seekers who travelled through the country and whose asylum request was considered inadmissible. It said that ''only foreigners who did not file an asylum application or renounced or whose request was rejected'' continue to be readmitted today.
The report said that, with a reform passed in June 2016, Greek commissions examining appeal cases have "changed orientation" and are more inclined to consider Turkey as a safe country. It also noted that Greece is more willing "to systematically use the instrument of administrative detention."