Border Procedure, were based on a pre-defined template provided to Regional Asylum Offices or Asylum
Units on the islands, and were identical –except for the applicants’ personal details and a few lines
mentioning their statements– and repetitive.850
Specifically, the Asylum Service reaches the conclusion that Türkiye is a safe third country for Syrian
nationals, relying on:
(a) the provisions of Turkish legal regime in force, i.e., the Turkish Law on Foreigners and
International Protection (LFIP), published on 4 April 2013, 851 the Turkish Temporary Protection
Regulation (TPR), published on 2014852 and the Regulation on Work Permit for Applicants for and
Beneficiaries of International Protection, published on 26 April 2016, 853 without taking into
consideration its critical amendments, based on emergency measures; 854
(b) the letters, dated 2016, exchanged between the European Commission and Turkish
authorities,855
(c) the letters, dated 2016, exchanged between the European Commission and the Greek
authorities,856
(d) the 2016 letters of UNHCR to the Greek Asylum Service, regarding the implementation of Turkish
law about temporary protection for Syrians returning from Greece to Türkiye and
(e) sources, indicated only by title and link, without proceeding to any concrete reference and legal
analysis of the parts they base their conclusions.
Second instance decisions under the JMD 538595/2023857
Throughout 2024, 1,167 “inadmissible/safe country of origin” decisions were issued by the Appeals
Committee under the JMD 538595/2023.858 Of these, 10 decisions concerned Albania and 25 North
Macedonia. The official statistical data for 2024 do not break down the cases according to nationality
(Syrian, Afghan, Somali, Pakistani or Bangladeshi), nor has such data been provided following GCR’s
yearly requests.
Decisions of the Appeals Committees rejecting cases as inadmissible follow the line of reasoning of the
Asylum Service to a great extent. Appeals Committees have continued to refrain from taking into
consideration up-to-date and reliable sources of information concerning risks of inhuman or degrading
treatment and refoulement facing individuals in Türkiye. Appeals Committees have also held that the
designation of a third country as safe may be maintained, even in cases where the applicant invoked
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
ECRE, The role of EASO operations in national asylum systems, 29 November 2019, available at:
https://bit.ly/2RVALRt, pp. 33 and 35; ECRE et al., The implementation of the hotspots in Italy and Greece,
December 2016, p. 38, available at: https://bit.ly/4a8glLp. On Lesvos, see GCR, GCR Mission to Lesvos –
November 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3Gv1rRT, p. 20; On Samos, see GCR, GCR Mission to Samos –
June 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3GvJJO6, p. 20 On Leros and Kos, see GCR, GCR Mission to Leros
and Kos – May to November 2016, p. 32, available at: https://bit.ly/3t7mWoI.
Türkiye: Law No. 6458 of 2013 on Foreigners and International Protection, 4 April 2013, as amended by the
Emergency Decree No 676, 29 October 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3LhAJhk.
National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities, Türkiye: Temporary Protection Regulation, 22 October
2014, available at: https://bit.ly/2YM9F3T.
National Legislative Bodies / National Authorities, Türkiye: Regulation on Work Permit of International
Protection Applicants and International Protection Status Holders, 26 April 2016, available at:
https://bit.ly/3oTLij3.
Venice Commission, Opinion No. 865 / 2016, Opinion on the Emergency Decree Laws Nos. 667-676 adopted
following the failed coup of 15 July 2016, adopted at its 109th plenary session, 9-10 December 2016, Doc.
CDL-AD(2016)037, available at: https://bit.ly/3uQDa6h; International Commission of Jurists, Türkiye: Justice
suspended, Access to justice and the State of Emergency in Türkiye, 2018, available at: https://bit.ly/3DlcsTi,
p. 2.
Letters between the European Commission and the Turkish and Greek authorities between April and July
2016, available at: https://bit.ly/4bbi6Y2.
Ibid.
See here.
MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview 2024- International Protection | Appendix A, available in
English here, table 8b
166
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