8 and withdrawing international protection, which requires Member States to register an asylum application no later than three working days after the application is made with a possible extension to six or 10 working days.28 The latter was acknowledged by the Director of the Asylum Service but she maintained that this provision was impossible for Greece to implement in practice as it would immediately result in a new backlog. Moreover, countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh are now in the top 5 countries of origin of asylum seekers, and as nationals from those countries are likely to submit manifestly unfounded asylum applications, according to the Director, it is important to ensure that those who need international protection are able to access the asylum system. ECRE is extremely concerned about the approach adopted by the Greek Asylum Service and the delays it can generate for asylum seekers to access the asylum system in Greece. Whereas ECRE acknowledges the importance of issuing quality first instance decisions to asylum seekers within a reasonable time and the progress made by the Asylum Service in this respect, this should not undermine individuals’ access to the asylum procedure and protection from refoulement. It is extremely worrying that the need to avoid additional backlogs in the asylum statistics seems to take priority over the right to asylum as laid down in Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Making immigration detention truly exceptional in Greece? The detention of asylum seekers and irregular migrants, often for prolonged periods of time and in substandard conditions and without effective access to judicial remedies has been standard practice in Greece. Following three tragic deaths in detention centres in Greece, the new Greek government announced on 17 February 2015 a range of measures that, if implemented, would be an important step towards reducing the use of immigration detention in Greece.29 Those measures include the immediate release of vulnerable persons and referral to reception accommodation, the release of asylum seekers as well as persons whose detention exceeds six months, the immediate implementation of measures to substantially improve detention conditions and the use of alternative measures to detention.30 Moreover, the government announced the revocation of the Ministerial Decision allowing for the prolongation of detention for the purpose of removal beyond 18 months, in violation of the maximum detention period of 18 months laid down in the EU Return Directive as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the immediate release of people who have been detained more than 18 months. ECRE welcomes the announcement of the Greek Government as an important step in the right direction. Effective and swift implementation of these measures is urgently needed to make detention of asylum seekers and migrants truly exceptional and reduce the human suffering that inevitably results from detention, as illustrated also in sections five and six of this report. 28 Directive 2013/32/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (recast) (hereinafter recast Asylum Procedures Directive), OJ 2013 L 180/60. 29 See, Ministry of Citizen Protection, Press release of Deputy Ministers for Citizen Protection and Administrative Reconstruction Mr Giannis Panousis and Mrs Anastasia Christodoulopoulou on Detention Centres (Δελτίο Τύπου των Αναπληρωτών Υπουργών Εσωτερικών και Διοικητικής Ανασυγκρότησης κ. Γιάννη Πανούση και κας Αναστασίας Χριστοδουλοπούλου σχετικά με τα Κέντρα Κράτησης), 17 February 2015 and UNHCR. 30 See UNHCR, UNHCR welcomes the envisaged changes in the administrative detention of third country nationals, 19 February 2015.