ATHENS, 17 September 2025 — Joint Press Release:
In a complaint submitted on 11 September, four civil society organisations call on the European Commission to immediately initiate legal proceedings against Greece’s three-month suspension of the right to asylum and immediate deportation applied to people arriving from North Africa by sea.
This rule, in force since mid-July, directly flouts basic EU standards such as the right to asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, as already highlighted by national and international institutions. The impact of the suspension of the right to asylum is compounded by the complete absence of free legal assistance for people subject to deportation proceedings in detention centres across the country, despite clear EU law obligations to that effect. Our organisations represent only a small number of those caught under the suspension, with inevitably very limited capacity compared to the total population affected.
The European Commission has an institutional responsibility to act immediately. It must review the suspension of the right to asylum and take immediate measures to put an end to the breach of EU law.
The organisations:
Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)
Greek Council for Refugees (GCR)
HIAS Greece
Equal Rights Beyond Borders
