another language that it is reasonably considered that the asylum applicant comprehends, if it has been proven manifestly impossible for the authorities to provide interpretation in that language. A refusal of the applicants to undergo procedures in the official language of their countries of origin, rather than their native languages, may be considered a violation of their obligation to cooperate with the authorities and lead to the rejection of their application. According to Article 95(3)(b) Asylum Code, the personal interview may be conducted by Asylum Service staff or EUAA personnel or, “in particularly urgent circumstances”, by trained personnel of the Hellenic Police or the Armed Forces.415 With regard to the possibility of personnel of Hellenic Police or Armed Forces conducting personal interviews, Amnesty International has underlined that the application of such provision “would be a serious backward step that will compromise the impartiality of the asylum procedure”.416 This has not been applied in practice so far. Yet, it has been applied as regards the full registration of the asylum applications. As regards EASO, now the EUAA, its competence to conduct interviews had already been introduced by an amendment to the law in June 2016, following an initial implementation period of the EU-Türkiye Statement marked by uncertainty as to the exact role of EASO officials, as well as the legal remit of their involvement in the asylum procedure. The EASO Special Operating Plans to Greece foresaw a role for EASO in conducting interviews (face-to-face and remote) in different asylum procedures, drafting opinions and recommending decisions to the Asylum Service throughout 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.417 A similar role is foreseen in the Operational & Technical Assistance Plan to Greece 2022-2024, including in the Regular procedure.418 In practice, in cases where the interview is conducted by an EUAA Greek language caseworker, they provide an opinion / recommendation (πρόταση / εισήγηση) on the case to the Asylum Service, that remains the competent authority for the issuance of the decision. The transcript of the interview and the opinion / recommendation are written in Greek, while in 2020, they could be written either in Greek or in English, which is not the official language of the country.419 The issuance of an opinion / recommendation by EASO/EUAA personnel to the Asylum Service is not foreseen by any provision in national law and thus lacks a legal basis.420 Finally, a caseworker of the Asylum Service, without having had any direct contact with the applicant e.g. to ask further questions, issues the decision based on the interview transcript and recommendation provided by EASO/EUAA. 421 In 2022, the number of interviews carried out by EUAA caseworkers in Greece further decreased to interviews in the asylum cases of 16,639 applicants. Of these, 85% related to the top 10 citizenships of applicants interviewed by the EUAA, in particular Afghanistan (3,799), Bangladesh (1,957), Somalia (1,804), Palestine (1,403), Syria (1,396) and Democratic Republic of Congo (1,158). 422 The number of concluding remarks issued by EUAA decreased to 5,071 in 2022, almost half of those issued in 2021 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 Article 95(3)(b) Asylum Code. Amnesty International, Submission on the Human Rights implications on the Government proposal to change the Greek Law on international protection, reception and returns, 24 October 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/2XYyY1D. EASO, Special Operating Plan to Greece 2017, December 2016, available at: http://bit.ly/2h1M2dF, 9; EASO, Operating Plan to Greece 2018, December 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2BO6EAo, 13-14, EASO, Operating Plan to Greece 2019, 19 December 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/2W6vJB2, 14-15, EASO, Operational & Technical Assistance Plan to Greece, 20 December 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/2VUAj6P, 14. EASO, Operating Plan to Greece 2022-2024, 9 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3uIsWCt, 20-21. Previously, the transcript of the interview and the opinion/recommendation had being written either in Greek or in English, which was not the official language of the country. This issue, among others, had been brought before the Council of State, which ruled in September 2017 that the issuance of EASO opinions / recommendations in English rather than Greek does not amount to a procedural irregularity, insofar as it is justified by the delegation of duties to EASO under Greek law and does not result in adversely affecting the assessment of the applicant’s statements in the interview. The Council of State noted that Appeals Committees are required to have good command of English according to Article 5(3) L 4375/2016: Council of State, Decisions 2347/2017 and 2348/2017, 22 September 2017, para 33. Article 60(4)(b) L 4375/2016 and 90(3)(b) only refer to the conduct of interviews by EASO staff. AIRE Centre, et al., Third party intervention in J.B. v. Greece, 4 October 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2qSRxoU, 10-11. Information provided by the EUAA, 28 February 2023. 97