Readmissions between Greece and Turkey
1.2.2021
Priority question for written answer P-000604/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Erik Marquardt (Verts/ALE)
Although Turkey has not accepted any readmissions since March 2020, the Greek authorities have been issuing voluntary departure decisions for Syrian nationals with a final decision rejecting their application as inadmissible (Turkey is considered a ‘safe third country’ for them). These people are requested to depart from Greece within 10, 15 or 30 days, although their applications have not been assessed on their merits. Nevertheless, they are not allowed to enter Turkey, and they cannot return to Syria in view of the ongoing conflict. This has created a situation of refugees ‘in orbit’. At the same time, they no longer have access to material reception conditions, and are facing precarious living conditions amid a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece, which has led to strict lockdown measures.
- 1.Is this practice compatible with Article 38(4) of Directive 2013/32/EU?
- 2.Is this practice compatible with Articles 13 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as with Articles 4 and 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights?
- 3.Is the removal of these people and their exclusion from material reception conditions compatible with Article 3 of the ECHR and with Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights?