of their previous application and the consequent deactivation of PA.A.Y.P.A. They were also deprived of any other financial resources and at risk of arrest, administrative detention and deportation. Moreover, the Ministerial Decision foresees that if the application is submitted on behalf of several members of the applicant's family, the fee is required for each applicant separately, including minor children. By way of illustration, in a constellation of five family members - two parents with three minor children - a fee of €500 is required.530 Particular concerns arise in relation to applications for international protection falling under the scope of the JMD designating Türkiye as a "safe third country" for applicants whose country of origin is Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia; i.e. cases where their previous applications have been examined only on admissibility (Türkiye safe third country) and have been rejected as inadmissible, without ever having been examined on the merits. Moreover, despite the fact that Türkiye has suspended readmission for almost four years, these applications have been rejected as inadmissible due to the continued refusal of the Greek authorities to enforce the relevant provisions of the Asylum Code and previously of the IPA, which foresee that they should be examined on the merits if applicants cannot return to the third country in question. It should be noted that the above procedure was in force for Syrian citizens even before the implementation of the JMD which defines Türkiye as a "safe third country" and as a result there are cases of applicants who have not been able to access a safe legal status for four years, as they are constantly rejected on admissibility. For the applicants whose application for international protection have never been examined on the merits, the Administration must invite them to an oral hearing to assess the merits according to Article 91(5) of the Asylum Code and not to lead them to apply for international protection for a third time, while obliging them to pay a fee of €100 for this purpose. Moreover, this provision also includes asylum seekers from countries where a substantial change of circumstances has taken place, such as Afghanistan, despite the fact that the existence of new and essential elements and the nonabusively submission of the application are given. National human rights bodies including the Greek Ombudsman and civil society organisations repeatedly called on the Minister of Migration and Asylum to abolish the aforementioned legislative regulation “as it is clear that the legislative provision including the payment of a fee as a prerequisite for the submission of a subsequent application for international protection for a financially deprived and vulnerable population, such as asylum seekers and especially for large families, makes the submission of the asylum application prohibitive. 531 As a result, this condition undermines the right of access to asylum, as enshrined in Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, as the provision is contrary to Articles 6(1) and 40-42 of Directive 2013/32/EU. In addition, it conflicts with the provisions of Articles 25(2) and 20(1) of the Constitution of Greece, Articles 47 and 52 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU and the relevant case law of the ECtHR regarding the provisions of Articles 3, 8 and 13 of the ECHR”.532 The Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Refugee Support Aegean (RSA) have filed a judicial review petition before the Greek Council of State for the annulment of the aforementioned Joint Ministerial Decision. The date of the hearing was set for June 2022 but was subsequently postponed. Furthermore, it appears that the European Commission has also pointed out to the Greek authorities that the unconditional submission of a fee of €100 for the second and subsequent applications raises issues regarding effective access to the asylum procedure as evidenced by European Commissioner Johansson’s reply of 25 January 2022 to a relevant question submitted under the urgent procedure by the German Green MEP Erik Marquardt.533 530 531 532 533 Article 1 (2) Joint Ministerial Decision 472/2021. Document Prot. No 43/30.08.20201 ‘Comments and observations on the draft law ‘Reform of deportation procedures and returns of third country nationals, attracting investors and digital media nomads, issues of residence permit and procedures for granting international protection and other provisions of the MoMA and Ministry of Citizen Protection|, available at https://bit.ly/36adOEj, 11. GCR, Imposition of a fee of 100 euros for access to asylum from the 2nd and every following subsequent application to applicants for international protection, including minors, available at: https://bit.ly/3jBxUdN. European Parliament, Parliamentary question E-005103/2021, 20 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3M3dGWh. 124