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Question for written answer E-006225/2020/rev.1 to the Commission Rule 138 Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL), Konstantinos Arvanitis (GUE/NGL), Alexis Georgoulis (GUE/NGL), Petros Kokkalis (GUE/NGL), Stelios Kouloglou (GUE/NGL), Elena Kountoura (GUE/NGL) Subject: Four-day blanket ban on gatherings in Greece The head of the Greek police has decided to ban all outdoor gatherings of four or more people across the entire country from 06.00 on 15 November 2020 until 21.00 on 18 November 2020 inclusive.1 The decision, citing the need to specify and tighten emergency measures against the pandemic and the risk of spreading COVID-19, essentially aims at a total ban on gatherings ahead of the anniversary of the Polytechnic uprising against the military junta on 17 November. The decision does not simply restrict the right to assembly but introduces a blanket ban on this freedom enshrined not only in Article 11 of the Greek Constitution but also in Article 11 ECHR and Article 12 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors has already stated that this decision is beyond the scope of the Greek constitutional framework and calls for its immediate revocation.2 In view of this: What is the Commission’s assessment of the above four-day blanket ban on gatherings, particularly in the wake of its first annual report on the rule of law in the EU, which stresses the need to respect the rule of law, citizens’ rights and the principle of proportionality in the context of tackling the pandemic?3 Is the Commission aware of such targeted, blanket bans on gatherings having been introduced in other Member States? 1 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE B 5046/14-11-2020 2 https://ende.gr/%cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%cf%84%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%bc%ce%b1- %ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%b9- %ce%b1%cf%80%ce%b1%ce%b3%ce%bf%cf%81%ce%b5%cf%85%cf%83%ce%b7- %cf%83%cf%85%ce%bd%ce%b1%ce%b8%cf%81%ce%bf%ce%b9%cf%83%ce%b5%cf%89/ 3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0580&from=EN See also the European Parliament Resolution of 13 November 2020 on the impact of COVID-19 measures on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights (2020/2790 (RSP)) with specific references to the right of assembly, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0307_EN.html PE656.779v02-00.

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