Reacting to the news that the Greek Parliament voted to suspend the registration of asylum applications from people coming by boat from North Africa for three months and to return them to their country of origin, Adriana Tidona the Migration Researcher of Amnesty International said:
“These shameful proposals flagrantly violate international law, will do nothing to improve conditions for refugees and migrants already in Crete and Gavdos– and will only punish people seeking protection. Denying the right to seek asylum based on how someone arrives is discriminatory and violates the core principles of refugee protection. International law strictly prohibits returning people without first assessing their circumstances. The Greek government should immediately reverse this decision.
“The Greek authorities also announced their plan to establish a detention facility in Crete, and to and detain those entering irregularly. If implemented, this proposal is likely to lead to situations of automatic and therefore arbitrary migration detention, in violation of EU and international law.
“As guardian of EU law, the European Commission must urgently demand a reversal of the measures, and trigger infringement procedures if necessary. If EU institutions do not swiftly and firmly condemn these measures, they would not only be compromising basic tenets of EU and international law, but also efforts to deliver on a Common European Asylum System.”
Background
On 11 July the Greek Parliament voted in favour of the amendment. The vote follows a recent EU mission to Libya to discuss migration cooperation which resulted in the delegation being denied entry to Eastern Libya, declared ‘persona non grata’ and ordered to leave.
Since the beginning of 2025 there has been an increased number of arrivals to the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos from Libya. An NGO report published on 7 July, highlighted the lack of first reception and accommodation conditions in Crete.
In 2020, Greece adopted similar measures to those approved in response to increased arrivals at the borders with Türkiye, suspending asylum and proposing returns for those crossing. At the time, Amnesty International reported cases of pushbacks, beatings and arbitrary detention and even deaths and injuries resulting from the use of live ammunitions. That scenario must not happen again.
In his speech to the Parliament yesterday, the Greek Prime Minister also announced his country’s intention to cooperate with the Libyan authorities to halt migration flows to Greece. As Amnesty International has warned, the EU’s ongoing support for Libyan authorities to halt departures has led to tens of thousands of people being intercepted at sea and forcibly returned to detention centres in Libya.
