2. Does national legislation allow for the use of “safe third country” concept? ❖ Is the safe third country concept used in practice? Yes No Yes 3. Does national legislation allow for the use of “first country of asylum” concept? No Yes No Following the EU-Türkiye Statement of 18 March 2016,790 the provisions concerning the “first country of asylum” and the “safe third country” concepts were applied for the first time in Greece vis-à-vis Türkiye. Serious concerns about the compatibility of the ΕU-Türkiye Statement with international and European law, and more precisely the application of the “safe third country” concept, have been raised since the publication of the Statement.791 On 28 February 2017, the CJEU delivered an order with regard to an action for annulment brought by two Pakistani nationals and one Afghan national against the EU-Türkiye Statement. The order stated that ‘the EU-Turkey Statement, as published by means of Press Release No 144/16, cannot be regarded as a measure adopted by the European Council, or, moreover, by any other institution, body, office or agency of the European Union, or as revealing the existence of such a measure that corresponds to the contested measure.’792 Therefore, ‘the Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on the lawfulness of an international agreement concluded by the Member States.’793 The decision became final on 12 September 2018, as an appeal against it before the CJEU was rejected. 794 1. Safe country of origin According to Article 92 Asylum Code, safe countries of origin are: (a) Those included in the common list of safe countries of origin by the Council of the EU; and (b) Third countries, in addition to those of case (a), which are included in the national list of safe countries of origin and which shall be established and apply for the examination of applications for international protection and published in accordance with Article 92 paragraph 5, issued by a Joint Ministerial Decision by the Ministers of Citizen Protection and Foreign Affairs, following a recommendation of the Director of the Asylum Service. A country shall be considered as a “safe country of origin” if, on the basis of legislation in force and of its application within the framework of a democratic system and the general political circumstances, it can be clearly demonstrated that persons in these countries do not suffer from persecution, generally and permanently, nor torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor a threat resulting from the use of generalised violence in situations of international or internal armed conflict.795 To designate a country as a “safe country of origin”, the authorities must take into account inter alia the extent to which protection is provided against persecution or ill-treatment through:796 ❖ The relevant legal and regulatory provisions of the country and the manner of their application; ❖ Compliance with the ECHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), namely as regards non-derogable rights as defined in Article 15(2) ECHR, the Convention against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child; ❖ Respect of the non-refoulement principle in line with the Refugee Convention; and 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 European Council, Press Release: EU-Turkey Statement, 18 March 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3GtKveu. See, e.g., Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR), Έκθεση για τη συμφωνία ΕΕ-Τουρκίας της 18ης Μαρτίου 2016 για το προσφυγικό/μεταναστευτικό ζήτημα υπό το πρίσμα του Ν. 4375/2016, 25 April 2016, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/yz7anh2z; Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Resolution 2109 (2016), The situation of refugees and migrants under the EU-Türkiye Agreement of 18 March 2016, available at: http://bit.ly/2fISxlY; United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his mission to Greece, A/HRC/35/25/Add.2, 24 April 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2rHF7kl, para 31. General Court of the European Union, Cases T-192/16, T-193/16 and T-257/16 NF, NG and NM v. European Council, Order of 28 February 2017, press release available at: http://bit.ly/2lWZPrr. Ibid. CJEU, Cases C-208/17 P, C-209/17 P and C-210/17 P NF, NG and NM v European Council, Order of 12 September 2018. Article 92(3) of Asylum Code. Article 92 (4) of Asylum Code. 173