The EU-Turkey statement
Back to: The Greek Asylum System and its Functions
On March 20th 2016, the European Council and Turkey reached an agreement aimed at stopping the flow of irregular migration via Turkey to Europe. According to the EU-Turkey Statement, all new irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving from Turkey to the Greek islands and whose applications for asylum have been declared inadmissible should be returned to Turkey.1
Grounds of inadmissibility of applications2
Safe third country
A country in which an asylum-seeker could have had access to an effective asylum regime, and in which he or she has been physically present prior to arriving in the country in which he or she is applying for asylum.
The “safe third country” concept is a ground for inadmissibility of asylum applications.
Safe country of origin
A country of origin of asylum-seekers is considered safe if it does not, or does not generally, produce refugees. Receiving countries often use the concept of safe country of origin as a basis for rejecting summarily (without examination of the merits) particular groups or categories of asylum-seekers.
The “safe country of origin” concept is a ground for inadmissibility of asylum applications.
First country of origin
First country in which a refugee or a displaced person outside of his or her country benefits or could benefit from protection. The notion of first country of asylum is frequently used as a condition of access to the asylum determination procedure.
The “first country of origin” concept is a ground for inadmissibility of asylum applications.