Greece toughens its Asylum granting polices for asylum seekers from specific countries As it now officially recognizes Turkey as a “safe third country,” applications by asylum seekers from those specific countries will be immediately rejected.
According to a joint ministerial decision (KYA) published on Wednesday, Turkey is included in the list of “safe third countries” for specific categories of asylum applicants in Greece.
The KYA was signed by Migration & Asylum Minister Makis Voridis and Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis, and relates to Greece’s National List of Safe Third Countries.
The ministerial decision specifically refers to asylum applicants who originate from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
At the same time, the decision will allow the immediate rejection of asylum applicants who are nationals of the above-named countries and have entered Greece illegally from Turkey, allowing as well their return.
A Migration Ministry statement noted that “the basic priority is the return of all those living in Greece illegally.”
Issuing the KYA decision was necessary due to the annulment of an earlier related decision by the Council of State, media reported.
The overwhelming majority of asylum seekers arrive in Greece coming from Turkey.
Last month, it became clear that Greece would toughen its migration policies as the Prime Minister appointed Makis Voridis, a hardliner, as Migration and Asylum Minister, and who immediately proceeded in making changes once he assumed his post.
Migration and Asylum Minister Makis Voridis sent a strong message in support of a strict migration policy, with a focus on returns and the fight against illegal migration, while
Attending the 2nd Ministerial Conference of the Khartoum Process on 9 April, Minister Voridis said in support of a strict migration policy that “there is no serious migration policy without returns and to fight against illegal migration.”
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It is not the job of governments to decide on which countries are safe for asylum-seekers: this is the job of the courts and expert advisers. This piece of illegal nonsense will be rejected by the European courts, and possibly by the Greek courts. It is nothing other than a fascist imposition inspired by political hatred of foreigners.
The Far Right (of which Trump is a good contemporary example) believe that there is no rule of law other than that with which they agree: therefore, they try to usurp the authority of judges and courts, while simultaneously threatening them with violence of various sorts.
Greece (along with all civilised countries) needs to remove these thugs and dangerous extremists from its political space. Their proper place on Earth is in prison, until the day they die. Have we learned nothing from the Nazi period??!!