the European Union national list of 'safe third countries' (JMD 42799/2021), was discussed at an oral hearing before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg on 14 March 2024. 253 At the hearing, the legal representatives of GCR and RSA focused on how the inclusion of Türkiye in the national list of “safe third countries” practically “consolidates the policy of abdication of responsibility for the protection of refugees in Europe”.254 On Friday 4 October 2024, the CJEU, in line with the Advocate’s General Opinion, 255 ruled that Member States cannot issue a decision rejecting an asylum application as inadmissible on the basis of the concept of a "safe third country" in cases where they have established that the asylum seeker will not be allowed to enter the territory of a country designated as safe. The Court accepted, however, that a country may be listed as a safe third country even if, despite its legal obligation, that third country has, in general and without any prospect of a contrary development, suspended the admission or readmission of those applicants to its territory. Therefore, the decision on the existence or not of the possibility of readmission to the third country, in this case Türkiye, becomes a prerequisite at the stage of issuing the decision on the asylum application and not at the stage of its execution, as has been the practice by asylum examination authorities in Greece, up to the present.256 On 27 February 2025, the Plenary Session of the Greek Council of State ruled by majority that the Joint Ministerial Decision (538595/12.12.2023), which established Türkiye as a safe third country, must be annulled. The decision accepted the fact that the necessary legal criteria outlined in Article 91 of Law 4939/2022, which are in line with EU Directive 2013/32/EU, were not sufficiently assessed. Furthermore, the Court unanimously annulled the individual decisions made by the Appeals Committees that rejected the examined asylum applications from Türkiye nationals based on Türkiye’s designation as a safe third country. The Court finally noted that, since Turkey had suspended the readmission of asylum seekers in March 2020, the Greek authorities cannot reject asylum claims as inadmissible on the grounds of Türkiye being a safe third country, in line with the CJEU’s ruling in October 2024 (C-134/23).257 However, concerns have been and continue to be raised regarding the compliance of the Ministry and responsible authorities with the Council of States’ decision.258 On 9 April 2025, even before the Council of State’s decision was published, the Greek government released a new, identical Joint Ministerial Decision re-designating Türkiye as a "safe third country" for asylum seekers originating from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Ministers co-signed the new Joint Ministerial Decision, without waiting for the finalisation and publication of the Council of State judgment. In a joint press release GCR and RSA uderlines that the particular practice is in blatant violations of principles of legality and legal certainty and in dereliction of Article 95(5) of the Constitution, which provides that "[...] the administration has an obligation to comply with judicial decisions[...]". In addition to applying for judicial review of the new Joint Ministerial Decision, GCR and RSA stated they will exhaust legal avenues - including the law on the administration's obligation to comply with court decisions - to legally claim and impose sanctions.259 The new JMD was again challenged before the Council of State by GCR and RSA in June 2025,260 with the decision pending, following a hearing on 4 November 2025. 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 GCR RSA Joint Press Release, Hearing before the Court of Justice of the European Union on Thursday 14 March on the preliminary questions of the Greek Council of State regarding Turkey as a "safe third country", 13 March 2024, https://tinyurl.com/yjpfa4w2 ECRE, Greece: More Crossings and Pushbacks in the Aegean Sea ― One of “Moria6” Loses Appeal Against Arson Conviction ― NGO Report on Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Asylum Policy on Lesvos ― Concerns about Lack of Accommodation on Crete Following Large Number of Arrivals ― CJEU Hearing on Designation of Türkiye as a “Safe Third Country”, 15 March 2024, available at: https://bit.ly/3VOMdzq. See Opinion of the CJEU Advocate General in Case C-134/23, available here. See Judgment of the CJEU in Case C-134/23, available here. See also GCR, Joint Press Release, CJEU ruling on the concept of "safe third country", 8 October 2024, available here. Announcement by the President of the Council of State on the outcome of the conference on cases discussed in plenary on 7 February 2025 concerning the designation of Türkiye as a safe third country, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc6kwjb4. Documento, “Βαφτίζει «ασφαλή χώρα» την Τουρκία η Βολουδάκη – Νέα πρόταση στο ΣτΕ από το υπουργείο Μετανάστευσης, 27 March 2025, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/4a4rtmpw. GCR/RSA New designation of Türkiye as a "safe third country" for refugees in defiant contempt of the Greek Council of State's ruling 14 April 2025 https://tinyurl.com/mrdasbys. GCR & RSA, ‘Ministry of Migration and Asylum’s persistence on Turkey’s characterisation as a “Safe Third Country” for refugees returns to the Council of State’, 11 June 2025, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4nw3ey4z. 66