EU migration

The new Greek asylum law that entered into force on 1 January 2020 has significantly diminished protection for people seeking asylum. The law and its amendments increase asylum seekers’ vulnerabilities, while limiting access to their fundamental right to seek asylum and be protected from serious risks.

The new Greek asylum system is designed to deport people rather than offer them safety and protection, warned the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Oxfam today.

The Greek Asylum Service has issued thousands of rejections to asylum-seekers while its public-facing services were closed for over two months.

The European Union’s latest row with Turkey will aggravate what is already Europe’s worst humanitarian disaster, Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) said on the fourth anniversary of the EU-Turkey deal.

EU development aid is increasingly being spent to close borders, stifle migration and push for returns of migrants to Africa, reveals new research published by Oxfam.

People who seek protection in Greece are regularly denied access to a fair and efficient asylum process, Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees revealed in a new report today.

Oxfam welcomes that four governments agreed today to share responsibility for the protection of people rescued from the Mediterranean. More EU cooperation will ensure that ships which have rescued people from drowning will no longer be stranded at sea before being allowed to dock at the nearest port of safety.

Oxfam's new report details how the system to identify and protect the most vulnerable people has broken down due to chronic under-staffing and flawed processes.