In July 2025, the Greek Parliament approved a controversial amendment to suspend asylum applications for all migrants arriving by sea from North Africa, particularly Libya. The measure—valid for an initial three-month period—was presented as an emergency response to rising arrivals on Crete and the southern islands. But critics see it as a clear break with international and EU legal norms.
The new Minister of Migration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, known for his far-right affiliations, has adopted an openly hostile stance. In public statements, he described irregular arrivals as an “invasion,” asserting that Greece is “not a hotel.” Under his direction, the ministry has moved from deterrence to outright exclusion: asylum seekers arriving under this new framework are detained immediately, without registration or access to standard protection procedures.
Human rights organisations, the Greek Ombudsman, and the Council of Europe have condemned the move as unlawful and dangerous. Suspending the right to seek asylum—without individual assessment—violates the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning people to places where they risk harm. Civil society actors across Greece have mobilised, publishing open letters and calling for the immediate withdrawal of the policy.
Beyond the suspension itself, the new legal framework hardens penalties for rejected asylum seekers: prolonged detention, fines, and prison sentences of up to five years. At the same time, access to shelter and food is being restricted, reinforcing a strategy of degradation as deterrence.
This shift marks a deeper turn in Greek migration governance: not just towards control, but towards the systematic denial of protection. The result is a policy landscape where rights are suspended, migration is punished, and racist political rhetoric replaces state’s responsibility.
More than 100 organizations signed against the suspension of Asylum in Greece. https://www.fenixaid.org/articles/joint-statement-suspension-asylum
