SOLIDARITY FIRST Reclaiming the Values of Europe 15TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON ASYLUM LAW CHIOS /ATHENS 15 - 20 OCTOBER 2018 ANNEGRET KRELLNER, BEACH CHIOS, OCTOBER 2018 1 CONTENTS 2 INTRODUCTION 4 Idea of the Conference 5 Declaration of the Participants of the 15th European Asylum Conference 6 Winter is Coming! 8 Commemoration of Those who lost their Lives in the Mediterranean on their Way to seek Safety 11 GREEK PERSPECTIVE 12 The Remains of the Refugee Crisis 13 The EU Refugee System from a Local Perspective 15 From “Dublin” to the Aegean, Turkey, Libya and Niger – Who is next? 20 The Greek Ombudsman’s Competence for the external Monitoring of the Return of Third-Country Nationals to their Country of Origin 21 EXCURSIONS 23 Vial Refugee Camp, Chios 24 Schisto Refugee Camp, Athens 25 Eleonas Refugee Camp, Athens 27 Imagine Centre, Chios 27 Eastern Shore Response Team – Warehouse, Chios 28 Women’s Centre, Chios 30 Greek asylum Service and Dublin Unit, Athens 31 UNHCR Country Office, Athens 32 Refugee Initiatives of the Greek Orthodox Church, Athens 33 THE ROLE OF EU AND MEMBER STATES 35 The Role of FRONTEX as European Agency in the Aegean 36 The EU-Turkey Statement and the Greek Hot Spots 37 Dublin System – Family Reunification from Greece to other EU Countries 38 The Reform of the CEAS – Overview and State of Play in the EU and Solutions for overcoming the Deadlock 41 Country Reports 43 Panel Discussion: Bilateral Agreements, Externalisation – Where is Europe going to? 47 APENDIX 49 Conference Agenda 50 Press Release 53 Further Documents: 54 Useful Links 54 Participants 55 Impressum 59 3 INTRODUCTION 4 Idea of the Conference or more than a decade now, the European Common European Asylum System (CEAS), FConference on Asylum has been held in dif- we chose Greece as the conference venue for ferent locations and brought together church- 2018, also as a sign of solidarity because of the based organisations in Europe. In October 2018 still difficult reception conditions and challenges it took place for the 15th time in Greece (Chios to the Greek asylum system. and Athens). Participants were, as usual, multi- pliers in the field of assisting refugees and asy- The purpose was not only to build a network lum seekers, from counselling and social work and a common understanding of refugee pro- to advocacy at different levels in – but not only tection in Europe but also to go to those rural – church-based organisations from European areas where you can see the impacts Europe- countries. The conference was organised under an migration policy with your own eyes, where the umbrella of the Churches’ Commission for you can listen directly to asylum seekers and Migrants in Europe (CCME). refugee supporters who daily face the deadlock at the external borders of Europe. This can be In the light of current developments in the EU, “life-changing” as one participant stated after the EU-Turkey Statement and the reform of the the conference. The aims of the conference were to • facilitate and to spark the discussion and po- We hope that the results will be carried into sitioning of churches in the European refugee everyone’s daily work, and will strengthen our and asylum policies in a growing reluctance of advocacy for a human rights-based refugee pro- welcoming refugees tection in Europe. • enhance networking by practitioners and rep- Dr. Torsten Moritz, resentatives of church and non-church actors Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe in refugee and asylum policies in Greece and other European countries Katharina Stamm, Diakonie Deutschland • gather information on current challenges to the Greek asylum system, at the EU’s external bor- ders and on the mainland, reception conditions, detention, by visits to local facilities in Chios and in Athens, meeting with NGOs and state actors • have an exchange on the future of the Com- mon European Asylum System. We are very grateful to all speakers at the Con- ference for giving us the unique opportunity of a condensed and intense insight into the pres- Katharina Stamm and Dr. Torsten Moritz ent situation in Greece. Efthalia Pappa from the Church of Greece made sure that all important actors in refugee work were gathered to meet us. Special thanks go to her for all her indispen- sable help and support in planning and imple- menting the programme. 5 Declaration of the Participants of the 15th European Asylum Conference e, altogether some 150 participants from 16 partly taking on the role they would need to play, WEuropean countries, met from 15 to 20 Oc- if they do so at all, thus creating a general state tober 2018 in Chios and Athens, Greece, for the of non-accountability. We were impressed to 15th European Asylum Conference. The event learn of the efforts by the Greek population, vol- was co-organised by the Churches´ Commission unteers, local and international actors to support for Migrants in Europe and Diakonie Deutschland the women, men and children arriving in search of with the slogan “solidarity first”. safety and a dignified life. Based on our findings and discussions we urge: This situation in Greece is the result of a policy of deterrence and intervention by the EU as well • an end to the hotspot approach both in its cur- as Member States at several levels, e.g. through rent form and as a blueprint for a future asylum the EU agencies FRONTEX or EASO. The aim to regime of the European Union (EU); keep refugees outside or at the border of Europe is embodied by the EU-Turkey Statement and the • the immediate transfer of asylum seekers from hotspot approach. We note with great concern the islands to the Greek mainland and an im- that none of the protection-oriented promises mediate improvement of the reception condi- linked to the hotspot approach has been fulfilled, tions on the islands as a shared responsibility of e.g. sharing responsibility through relocation, the European and Greek authorities; promise of fast and high-quality procedures, or the reduction of pressure on countries at the EU’s • an end to the externalisation of EU asylum pol- external borders. icy and, instead, the establishment of a true Common European Asylum System based on In practice, the regime of restricting persons arriv- high standards in reception and procedure, ac- ing in search of protection to the border areas of cess to procedure and true sharing of responsi- the EU undermines their fundamental rights and bility among all parties; human dignity. It leads to trauma and is the rea- son for many suicide attempts in the hotspots. • the establishment of ways to gain safe passage Another consequence is the deteriorating health to Europe for protection and other reasons, e.g. of inhabitants, who have no access to either a family reunification or labour migration. 1 livelihood or adequate medical services and insuf- ficient access to education. All in all, it is a viola- tion of the physical and psychological integrity of RATIONALE hotspot residents. When on Chios, we were shocked to observe not Recalling several studies, as well as the public only the undignified and humiliating condition of issues statement 2 of the Conference of Europe- refugees stranded there. We were also very con- an Churches, in June 2018, we note that lengthy cerned about the impact on local people, who periods in camps are detrimental to people’s feel left alone in this situation - created because well-being, especially children. Greece is the doorstep to Europe and about which we need to remind the wider European A further aggravating factor is the de facto law- public. We were frustrated by the apparent lack less situation in the hotspots. In many cases there of clear responsibility between different actors, is no effective access to asylum on EU soil due e.g. EASO, FRONTEX, the Greek authorities, at to “inadmissibility” procedures on the basis of the border, for reception and in asylum proce- the safe third-country concept. Often decisions dures. This leads to different stakeholders only 2 http://www.ceceurope.org/wp-content/ 1 https://migrantsineurope.wordpress.com/safe-and-legal- uploads/2018/07/GEN_PUB_01_Public_Committee_ paths/background-information/ Draft_Report_APPROVED_EN.pdf 6 based on such procedures are handed down to An issue which was sadly topical during our days persons who do not understand these proce- in Greece is the fate of those dying when trying dures, and who face the risk of chain deporta- to cross the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean or other tion, with neither access to legal assistance nor external borders of Europe, mainly as a result of recourse to effective remedies. prevailing policies. Every June, CEC and CCME call for the commemoration of those who have In this respect and in light of ever more restric- died on their way to Europe and, in this spirit, we tive asylum policies and practices we reiterate the vowed that “we will remember you” in a com- right for all to access a full, high-quality asylum memoration ceremony in Chios. procedure inside the EU, irrespective of the route by which a person entered the EU. Such proce- We therefore call for continued search and res- dures should include the right to family life and cue at sea, and safe and speedy disembarkation family reunification both during and after such a in the next safe port, as foreseen in internation- procedure. al maritime law. First and foremost, we reiterate the need to create safe passages to Europe as a In a situation where EU border states are currently complementary pathway to protection, as exem- left alone we re-emphasise the vision of “solidari- plified in the “humanitarian corridor” pilot projects ty first”.