As noted by the Greek Ombudsperson,786 “linking the deposit of a fee with the submission of a subsequent application for international protection undermines exercise of the right to asylum, as enshrined in Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. A fee, and indeed one amounting to €100 […], constitutes the submission of a subsequent application almost prohibitive for a population that is in a vulnerable financial situation, as is the case with asylum applicants and contravenes Articles 40-42 of Directive 2013/32/EU”. As further noted in a joint statement by 10 civil society organisations, members of the Lesvos Legal Aid Actor sub-Working Group, the provision is also “in conflict with the provisions of Articles 25(2) and 20(1) of the Greek Constitution, Articles 47 and 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and relevant case law of the ECtHR regarding the provisions of Articles 3, 8 and 13 of the ECHR, as it effectively makes access to the asylum procedure impossible for those refugees who cannot afford to pay the €100 fee for each person/family member.”787 In the same statement, the organisations further flag the additional concerns arising in relation to applicants for international protection who have had their applications rejected as inadmissible, without ever having been examined on the merits, on account of the persistent application of the “safe third country” concept in the case of Türkiye and the persistent refusal of the Greek authorities to enforce Article 38(4) Directive 2013/32/EU (Article 91(5) Asylum Code), despite the ongoing lack of any reasonable prospect of readmission to Türkiye for now more than three years. As noted, with said practice impacting on Syrian nationals even before the introduction of the JMD designating Türkiye as a “safe third country” for specific nationalities (also see Safe Third Country), “there are cases of applicants who have not been able to access a safe legal status for [more than] four years, as they are constantly rejected on admissibility. […] the Administration must invite them to an oral hearing to assess the merits according to Article 91(5) of the Asylum Code and not to force them to apply for international protection for a third time and to pay a fee of €100”.788 The Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) have filed a judicial review petition before the Greek Council of State for the annulment of the aforementioned Joint Ministerial Decision. The date of the hearing was set for June 2022 but was subsequently postponed and took place in May 2024. A further annulment application was also filled by HIAS Greece and two families of individual applicants before the Council of State, which after several postponements as well, was also heard on May 2024. The decisions remain pending by the end of 2025. The European Commission has also pointed out to the Greek authorities that the unconditional submission of a fee of €100 for the second and further subsequent applications raises issues regarding effective access to the asylum procedure as evidenced by European Commissioner Johansson’s reply of 25 January 2022 to a relevant question submitted under the urgent procedure by the German Green MEP Erik Marquardt.789 F. The safe country concepts Indicators: Safe Country Concepts 1. Does national legislation allow for the use of “safe country of origin” concept? ❖ Is there a national list of safe countries of origin? Yes No ❖ Is the safe country of origin concept used in practice? Yes No 786 787 788 789 Yes No Greek Ombudsperson, Comments and observations on the draft law ‘Reform of deportation procedures and returns of third country nationals, attracting investors and digital media nomads, issues of residence permit and procedures for granting international protection and other provisions of the MoMA and Ministry of Citizen Protection, Document Prot. No 43/30.08.20201, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/22yp7m4h, p. 11. Joint statement by 10 civil society organizations-members of the Legal Aid Working Group of Lesvos, Imposition of a €100 fee for access to asylum from the 2nd and each further subsequent application to applicants for international protection, 2 March 2022, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/n2585h35. Ibid. European Parliament, Parliamentary question E-005103/2021, 20 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3M3dGWh. 172