The IRC is calling for everyone’s asylum application to be examined on its merits, irrespective of where they come from. People with marginalised identities or conditions deemed “vulnerabilities”, including thousands of children, are not excluded from these policies. Instead, they are presumed to be safe in Turkey, and only if Turkey is proven not to be safe, are these applications deemed ‘admissible’, and Greece examines them. In other words, asylum applications from people of these five nationalities are not examined based on their individual circumstances and the risks they face in their country of origin. This means that almost half of all applications of people from Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Bangladesh and Pakistan are not examined ‘on the merits’. ![]() Out of the 12,570 decisions of admissibility on the basis of the JMD in 2021 (from 7 June to 31 December 2021) of the five nationalities, 47% (5,907) were found inadmissible. Revoke the EU-Turkey Statement and JMD, and ensure all asylum applications are examined on their individual merits.The EU and its member states can and must urgently put an end to the immense suffering experienced by refugees and other migrants in Greece. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a Instead, they are presumed to be safe in Turkey, and only if Turkey is proven not to be safe, are these applications deemed ‘admissible’, and Greece will examine them. Based on this new policy, asylum applications of people from these five nationalities will not be examined based on their individual circumstances and the risks they face in their country of origin. While the EU-Turkey ‘Deal’ impacted people seeking protection on the islands, this JMD applies to asylum seekers anywhere in Greece. Worryingly, this situation was worsened in June 2021 by a Greek Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) which designated Turkey as a ‘safe third country’ for people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. The containment policies put in place as a consequence of the EU-Turkey agreement have come at an immeasurable cost to people seeking safety and protection, trapping thousands of asylum seekers and refugees in limbo with devastating impacts on their physical and mental health. How has this affected refugees in Greece? It was supposed to be a ‘temporary measure’ intended to stop irregular migration to Europe. On March 18 2016, the EU-Turkey statement was announced, and it was implemented two days later. Yet as the number of new arrivals in frontline EU states such as Greece increased, the EU began to put greater pressure on Turkey to curb departures from its own coastline. On 18 March 2016, EU member states began closing their borders in efforts to prevent people reaching their territory irregularly. While there was a huge outpouring of support and solidarity from some countries and communities, a number of populist political parties and movements across Europe also employed strong anti-migrant messages and imagery to further their own agendas. The increase in new arrivals dominated headlines, sparked heated public debate, and began to polarise public opinion. More than 75% of those arriving in Europe had fled conflict and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. In that year, almost 1 million refugees arrived in the European Union, while more than 3,500 tragically lost their lives making the treacherous journey. The deal was one element of the EU’s response to a sharp rise in the number of people arriving on Europe’s shores in search of safety and protection in 2015. ![]() The message was clear: those attempting to reach Greece irregularly would be swiftly returned, while those who waited patiently in Turkey would have the chance to enter in their place. In exchange, Turkey would receive €6 billion to improve the humanitarian situation faced by refugees in the country, and Turkish nationals would be granted visa-free travel to Europe. For every Syrian returned from the islands, EU Member States would accept one Syrian refugee who had waited inside Turkey.Anyone who arrived on the islands irregularly from Turkey could be returned there.Turkey would take any measures necessary to stop people travelling irregularly from Turkey to the Greek islands.The ‘EU-Turkey deal’ is the term often used to describe the ‘statement of cooperation’ between EU states and the Turkish Government, which was signed in March 2016. ![]() But what is it? And why is it such a problem? Find out here. Seven years since the announcement of the 'EU-Turkey deal', this arrangement continues to cause immeasurable suffering in Greece.
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