According to observations made by legal aid organisations, including GCR, in practice, in 2024, applicants from Syria and Afghanistan who had an admissibility interview and their applications were found admissible did not undergo an in-merits interview. Instead, their asylum applications were examined on the basis of their administrative file and, in general, were accepted. The Asylum Service notified applicants directly of their positive decisions with reference to their admissibility decisions. This did not apply to applicants from Somalia, who, after the admissibility interview, were notified of the decision on the admissibility interview, and in the case of a positive result were invited to the interview on the merits. Since 1 January 2020, it is possible for the admissibility interview to be carried out by personnel of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) or, in particularly urgent circumstances, trained personnel of the Hellenic Police or the Armed Forces. The training needs to be in international human rights law, EU Law on Asylum and the procedures for conducting interviews.545 Such personnel are not allowed to wear military or law enforcement uniforms during interviews.546 However, EUAA caseworkers do not draft Opinions on cases where the JMD 42799/2021 designating Türkiye as a safe third country applies, as it falls outside their competence.547 Instead, EUAA caseworkers, following the interview, can send to Asylum Service caseworkers an annex with notes and comments on crucial issues to be taken into consideration.548 The EUAA has not publicly released specific statistics detailing the number of admissibility interviews conducted by its personnel in Greece for the year 2025. While the EUAA is involved in supporting the Greek Asylum Service, including providing training and operational support, detailed data on the number of interviews conducted by EUAA staff is not readily available. By the end of the year, authorities have stopped rejecting applicants on the grounds of Türkiye being a safe third country, usually due to the applicant not having a link with the country anymore. Additionaly, the examination of the applications of Syrian asylum seekers changed after the fall of the Assad regime on the 8th of December 2024. The Governmental Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence, aligning with similar decisions made by other European governments, suspended the issuance of asylum decisions for Syrian nationals. As a result, applicants who had successfully completed an admissibility interview by December 8, but had not yet received a decision, were required to undergo an interview on the merits. Applicants who had not yet undergone an admissibility interview participated in a merged interview, covering both admissibility and merits. 549 In all cases, no decisions were issued. (see Differential treatment of specific nationalities in the procedure). The same practice remained for interviews conducted during 2025. Extreme delays were noted in the issuance of a decision. The first rejections on the merits of international protection claims by Syrian applicants were also issued during 2025. 3.3. Appeal Indicators: Admissibility Procedure: Appeal Same as regular procedure 1. Does the law provide for an appeal against an inadmissibility decision? Yes No ❖ If yes, is it Judicial Administrative ❖ If yes, is it automatically suspensive Yes Some grounds No 545 546 547 548 549 Article 82(1) Asylum Code. Article 82(12) (c) Asylum Code. Information provided by the EUAA, 28 February 2023. In response to an information request submitted by ECRE for the year 2023, the EUAA answered on 26 February 2024 that “[t]he number of concluding remarks issued by EUAA decreased to 776 in 2023, a significant drop compared to 2022 (5,071). This is due to the fact that, following the June 2021 Joint Ministerial Decision designating Turkey as a safe third country for applicants from five of the most common countries of origin in Greece, the drafting of concluding remarks by EUAA caseworkers is no longer required for a large share of cases, that is those examined on admissibility”. Indicative Press Releases : Naftemporiki, Το ΚΥΣΕA αποφασίζει για τους Σύρους πρόσφυγες – Στην ατζέντα το «πάγωμα» αιτημάτων ασύλου, 13 December 2024, Naftemporiki, available at: https://tinyurl.com/37zyhf7k. 117