the Decision imposing the geographical restriction was transferred from the Director of the Asylum Service to the Minister of Migration Policy.710 A decision of the Minister of Migration Policy imposing the geographical restriction was issued in June 2019. 711 Following the amendment of the IPA (November 2019), a new decision imposing the geographical restriction was issued by the Minister of Citizen Protection in December 2019, which remains in effect.712 A new application for annulment was filed by GCR before the Council of State against these Decisions, however the hearing has been since consistently postponed and was still pending examination in December 2022. The Decision issued by the Minister of Citizen Protection in December 2019 regulates the imposition of the geographical restriction since 1 January 2020, and states the following: ‘1. A restriction of movement within the island from which they entered the Greek territory is imposed on applicants of international protection who enter the Greek territory through the islands of Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios. Said restriction is mentioned on the asylum seekers��� cards. 2. The restriction on movement shall be lifted subject to a decision of the Director of the RIC, which is issued as per the provisions of para. 7, article 39 of L.4636/2019, in cases of (a) unaccompanied minors, (b) persons subject to the provisions of Articles 8 to 11 of Regulation (EU) No 604/2013, as long as another member state, following a request by the Greek authorities, has accepted and undertaken the obligation to receive them in their territory, (c) persons whose applications can be reasonably considered to be well founded and (d) persons belonging to vulnerable groups or who are in need of special reception conditions as per the provisions of L. 4636/2019, as long as it is not possible to provide them with appropriate support in accordance with the specific provisions of article 67 IPA (“applicants in need of special procedural guarantees”)’. In line with said Decisions in force during 2019 and since 1 January 2020, the geographical restriction on each asylum seeker who enters the Greek territory through the Eastern Aegean Islands is imposed automatically when the asylum application is lodged before the RAO of Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Leros and Chios and the AAU of Kos. The applicant receives an asylum seeker’s card with a stamp on the card mentioning: “Restriction of movement on the island of […]”. In case the applicant holds the new type of “smart card”, a separate category stating whether they are subject to the geographical restriction is included on the card (e.g. stating “Άνευ” if no restriction is applied). No individual decision is issued for each asylum seeker. The lawfulness of the aforementioned practice is questionable, for the following reasons: ❖ No prior individual decision for the imposition of the geographical restriction is issued, as the restriction is imposed on the basis of a regulatory (‘κανονιστική’) Decision of the Minister and no proper justification on an individual basis is provided for the imposition of the restriction of movement on each island, within the frame of the asylum procedure.713 According to the relevant Decisions, any asylum seeker who enters the Greek territory from Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Leros, Chios and Kos is initially subject to a geographical restriction on said island. The restriction can be lifted only in case that the applicant falls within one of the categories provided by the Ministerial Decision. Consequently, the geographical restriction in the asylum procedure is applied indiscriminately, en masse and without any prior individual assessment. The impact of the geographical restriction on applicants’ “subsistence and… their physical and mental health”,714 on the ability of applicants to fully exercise their rights and to receive reception conditions, by taking into consideration reception conditions prevailing on the islands is not assessed. 710 711 712 713 714 Art. 7 L.4540/2018 as amended by L. 4609/2019. Ministerial Decision 13411/2019, Gov. Gazette 2399/B/19.6.2019 – Abolished by Ministerial Decision 1140/2019 (Gov. Gazette 4736/B/20.12.2019). Ministerial Decision 1140/2019, Gov. Gazette 4736/B/20.12.2019. Article 7 recast Reception Conditions Directive. Article 17(2) recast Reception Conditions Directive. 154