Greece should be able to resume the transfer of asylum-seekers under the Dublin Regulation as quickly as possible and the European Commission will take stock of this possibility at the end of 2016, said Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Wednesday 28 September.
Avramopoulos stated that this must not be an extra burden on this frontline country, where 60,000 people are awaiting processing of their applications, and that it must take place gradually. The commissioner said that they would see at the end of the year whether the return conditions and conditions for resuming transfers had been met, saying that decisions would be taken on a case-by-case basis. This must not overburden Greece, he said, describing the country as already bordering on the limit of its hosting capabilities.
The Dublin Regulation introduces the principle of the country of first entry, under which other member states can send back to this country, in this case Greece, asylum-seekers who lodged their first registration in this country. This principle has not been amended in the current draft review of the regulation (see EUROPE 11546).
German interior minister Thomas de Maizière recently said that his country expected Greece to become operational for such transfers as soon as possible (see EUROPE 11616).
On Wednesday, the European Commission adopted a third recommendation on Greece to enable it to return to the Dublin system. In the third recommendation, it notes that despite very difficult conditions, Athens is making an effort to improve its asylum system. Greece has launched a vast pre-registration process for asylum-seekers and passed a law on legal aid. It has also boosted its overall acceptance capacity, doubled its asylum service capacity, set up new appeals facilities and approved new legislation on free legal aid and education of school-age asylum-seekers and refugees.
In its recommendation, the Commission says further progress is necessary in terms of reception structures, access to asylum procedures and structures for vulnerable asylum-seekers before a resumption of transfers to Greece under the Dublin Regulation can be considered. Any future resumption of such transfers will also have to take account of the impact of this difficult situation on the overall functioning of the asylum system and therefore begin gradually, on a case-by-case basis. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)