Complaint against Greece filed with the European Commission, November 2009

November 2009

This com­p­laint is an initia­ti­ve of the Dut­ch Coun­cil for Refu­gees and is also sub­mit­ted on behalf of the Fin­nish Refu­gee Advice Cent­re, PRO ASYL and Refu­gee and Migrant Justice.

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.