Complaint against Greece filed with the European Commission, November 2009

Despi­te num­e­rous appeals to Greece and to the Euro­pean Com­mis­si­on, the Greek asyl­um sys­tem remains in a deplo­rable sta­te. In this com­plaint we will demons­tra­te that, by fai­ling to impro­ve the appal­ling con­di­ti­ons for asyl­um see­kers, Greece is bla­tant­ly vio­la­ting the pro­vi­si­ons of the EU asyl­um acquis, inclu­ding some of the most fun­da­men­tal prin­ci­ples upon which the EU is foun­ded, such as the prin­ci­ple of non-refou­le­ment, the right to asyl­um, and the right to human digni­ty. It is essen­ti­al that Greece brings its law and prac­ti­ce into line with the EU asyl­um acquis. It is thus of the utmost importance that imme­dia­te action be taken by Greece as well as the Euro­pean Com­mis­si­on to tack­le the num­e­rous pro­blems that curr­ent­ly exist in Greece.