concern more than one applicant.37 This includes cases of persons whose initial claims have arbitrarily been dismissed based on the safe third country concept and for whom a subsequent claim is the only means of re-accessing the asylum process, as discussed below.38 22. In light of the above rules, access to the asylum process is not “free of charge” for all asylum seekers, as inaccurately put forward in para 16 of the Updated Action Plan. 23. The European Commission has expressed the view that “the unconditional application of a EUR 100 fee for second subsequent applications raises issues in terms of effective access to the asylum procedure”.39 It has also “signalled that the fee introduced for second subsequent applications was not supported” 40 and has since “reiterated its concerns on the introduction of the fee at political level”.41 Greece nevertheless has “No plans by [the Ministry of Migration and Asylum] to abolish the fee currently applicable for the submission of second and further subsequent asylum applications, even for inadmissible cases”42 of persons whose claims are arbitrarily dismissed on safe third country grounds. 24. Secondary legislation – Joint Ministerial Decision (JMD) 472687/2021 – regulating specific issues regarding the subsequent applications’ fee has been challenged before the Greek Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) by a number of civil society organisations. The case, initially set for hearing in June 2022, has been postponed five times and is currently scheduled to be heard in October 2023. Risks of refoulement in the asylum process 25. The Greek government correctly submits in para 17 of the Updated Action Plan that about two out of three asylum applications processed on the merits by the Asylum Service are accepted. In its official regular reporting on the asylum process, however, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum refers to “34% positive decisions, 40% negative”. 43 These figures are attributed to the broad use of so-called inadmissibility grounds such as the safe third country concept, which lead to the rejection of asylum claims and to the issuance of removal orders without any assessment of the cases on the merits. 26. It is worth recalling that Greek law requires asylum authorities – Asylum Service at first instance, 21 Independent Appeals Committees (Ανεξάρτητες Επιτροπές Προσφυγών, IAC) at second instance – to order removal when dismissing an asylum application, including in inadmissibility decisions on safe third country grounds. 44 Amendments to asylum legislation passed in September 2021 have repealed the express duty on asylum authorities to examine the applicability of the principle of non-refoulement and 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 RSA, The Greek asylum procedure in figures in 2022: Analysis of main trends in refugee protection, March 2023. RSA et al., The state of the border procedure on the Greek islands, September 2022, 2526; RSA, Greece arbitrarily deems Turkey a “safe third country” in flagrant violation of rights, February 2022, 8-9. European Commission, Reply to written question E-5103/2021, 25 January 2022. European Commission, Task Force Migration Management Mission Report – Mission to Athens 25-27 October 2021, Ares(2021)6697895, 29 October 2021, 1. European Commission, Task Force Migration Management Mission Report – Greece – Jan/Feb 2022, Ares(2022)1024324, 11 February 2022, 3. European Commission, Task Force Migration Management Mission Report – Athens – January 2023, Ares(2023)3018530, January 2023, 3. Ministry of Migration and Asylum, ‘Μείωση 52% στους διαμένοντες στην Επικράτεια για τον Απρίλιο του 2023 σε σχέση με πέρυσι’, 22 May 2023, available at: https://shorturl.at/fgqIT. Articles 87(8) and 100(10) Asylum Code. 10 RSA COMMENTS│ 2023