on Syrian nationals even before the introduction of the JMD designating Türkiye as a “safe third country” for specific nationalities (also see Safe Third Country ), “there are cases of applicants who have not been able to access a safe legal status for [more than] four years, as they are constantly rejected on admissibility. […] 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 force them to apply for international protection for a third time and to pay a fee of €100”.712 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 and is currently scheduled for hearing in May 2024. A further annulment application was also filled by HIAS Greece and two families of individual applicants before the Council of State, yet after several postponements, the hearing is similarly currently pending for May 2024.713 The European Commission has also pointed out to the Greek authorities that the unconditional submission of a fee of €100 for the second and further 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.714 F. The safe country concepts Indicators: Safe Country Concepts 1. Does national legislation allow for the use of “safe country of origin” concept? v Is there a national list of safe countries of origin? v Is the safe country of origin concept used in practice? Yes Yes Yes No No No 2. Does national legislation allow for the use of “safe third country” concept? v Is the safe third country concept used in practice? Yes Yes No No 3. Does national legislation allow for the use of “first country of asylum” concept? Yes No Following the EU-Türkiye Statement of 18 March 2016,715 the provisions concerning the “first country of asylum” and the “safe third country” concepts were applied for the first time in Greece vis-à-vis Türkiye. Serious concerns about the compatibility of the ΕU-Türkiye Statement with international and European law, and more precisely the application of the “safe third country” concept, have been raised since the publication of the Statement.716 On 28 February 2017, the General Court of the European Union gave an order with regard to an action for annulment brought by two Pakistani nationals and one Afghan national against the EU-Türkiye Statement. The order stated that ‘the EU-Turkey Statement, as published by means of Press Release No 144/16, cannot be regarded as a measure adopted by the European Council, or, moreover, by any other institution, body, office or agency of the European Union, or as revealing the existence of such a measure that corresponds to the contested measure.’717 Therefore, ‘the Court does not have jurisdiction 712 713 714 715 716 717 Ibid. A timeline of the proceeding is available at: https://tinyurl.com/37ydcrn5. European Parliament, Parliamentary question E-005103/2021, 20 January 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3M3dGWh. European Council, Press Release: EU-Turkey Statement, 18 March 2016, available at: https://bit.ly/3GtKveu. See, e.g., Greek National Commission for Human Rights (GNCHR), Έκθεση για τη συμφωνία ΕΕ-Τουρκίας της 18ης Μαρτίου 2016 για το προσφυγικό/μεταναστευτικό ζήτημα υπό το πρίσμα του Ν. 4375/2016, 25 April 2016, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/yz7anh2z; Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Resolution 2109 (2016), The situation of refugees and migrants under the EU-Türkiye Agreement of 18 March 2016, available at: http://bit.ly/2fISxlY; United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants on his mission to Greece, A/HRC/35/25/Add.2, 24 April 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2rHF7kl, para 31. General Court of the European Union, Cases T-192/16, T-193/16 and T-257/16 NF, NG and NM v. European Council, Order of 28 February 2017, press release available at: http://bit.ly/2lWZPrr. 152