On February 7, 2008 Norway preceded the UNHCR announcement by suspending all Dublin system transfers of asylum seekers to Greece.25 In March, a Swedish court stopped the transfer of a disabled Iraqi man to Greece,26 and in May the Swedish Migration Board suspended returns of unaccompanied children to Greece, citing the Greek practice of detaining them for three weeks upon return.27 Also, in March 2008, the European Commission (EC) initiated an infringement procedure against Greece for breaching Article 3 (1) of the Dublin II regulation because it was continuing to prevent access to asylum procedures for persons transferred by other Dublin members to Greece.28 In late April, Finland announced that it would suspend transferring migrants to Greece unless it received written assurances from Greece that they would be fairly processed.29 Stung by the public rebuke and faced with an infringement proceeding before the European Court of Justice, Greece enacted a new refugee law on July 11, 2008 that allows asylum seekers transferred under the Dublin system to reopen their cases.30 25 Press statements of the Norwegian Appeals Board (Utlendingsnemda), February 7, 2008, and of the Norwegian Directorate of Migration (Utlendingsdirektoratet), February 7, 2008, cited in NOAS, A Gamble, p. 9. However, on September 3, 2008, Norwegian Prime Minister Jen Stoltenberg said that Norway would no longer suspend Dublin II transfers to Greece on a blanket basis, but rather that “an individual assessment shall be carried out concerning applicants who are to be returned to Greece.” Aften Posten, "Government tries to limit stream of refugees to Norway", September 3, 2008, http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2633553.ece (accessed September 12, 2008). 26 The Swedish Migration Board appealed the decision, and the Migration Court of Appeals sent the case back to the lower court for a new hearing. The head of the Swedish Migration Board, Dan Eliasson, said, “We can’t stop deportations to Greece simply because they have lousy conditions in their reception centers, such as dirty mattresses, poor toilets, and sometimes no living quarters whatsoever. Such things aren’t grounds to stop deportations in the EU.” Quoted in “Sweden Halts Return of Child Asylum Seekers to Greece,” TT/The Local, May 7, 2008, http://www.thelocal.se/10406/20080311/ (accessed September 11, 2008). 27 “Halt on Child Deportations to Greece,” Sveriges Radio, May 28, 2007, http://www.sr.se/cgibin/International/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?nyheter=1&ProgramID=2054&artikel=2056083 (accessed September 11, 2008). 28 Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic (2008/C 128/46). This is not the only occasion that the Commission has brought infringement proceedings against Greece related to asylum procedure. See also Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic (2007/C 96/26). 29 Leigh Phillips, “Finland Halts Migrant Transfer to Greece after UN Criticism,” EU Observer, April 21, 2008, http://euobserver.com/9/26016 (accessed September 11, 2008). 30 30 Presidential Decree No. 90/2008, Article 14.3. This and another asylum law, Presidential Decree96/2008, were enacted with retroactive applicability because the European Commission had required Greece (and other EU member states) to transpose Council Directive 2004/83/EC of April 29, 2004 on the minimum standards for the qualification for refugee status by October 10, 2006 and had taken Greece before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for its failure to do so (C-220/08). The new legislation transposing that directive, PD 96/2008, entered into force on October 10, 2006 pursuant to Article 38 of the legislation. PD 90/2008, transposing Council Directive 2005/85/EC of December 1, 2005 on the minimum standards on procedures in member states for granting and withdrawing refugee status, entered into force retroactively on December 1, 2007 at Article 33. In real time, however, the laws were not implemented prior to their actual enactment. 25 Human Rights Watch November 2008