The Plenary of the Greek Counsil of State has annulled the Joint Ministerial Decision which designated Turkey as a "safe country" for applicants from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Somalia seeking international potection. "This is because, as it emerges from the case files, Turkey has suspended the readmissions of asylum applicants to its territory since March 2020," explained the President of the Greek Counsil of State, Michalis Pikramenos, in a statement on 21 March.

The decision was made by majority vote during a closed-door session of the Counsil of State Plenary, which was announced by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, Michalis Pikramenos. He pointed out that there is insufficient evidence and reasoning to designate Turkey as a safe country. “The report, including its annex, only presents the texts of international sources considered, without specifically assessing the information contained in these sources against the criteria set by law, to substantiate the legal conditions for such a designation,” he explained.

He further added, “As recognised by the ruling of the European Court of Justice on 4 October 2024 in case C-134/23, Greek authorities cannot reject international protection applications as inadmissible under Article 33(2)(c) of Directive 2013/32/EU and the corresponding provision of national law, based on the argument that Turkey is a safe third country.”

In other words, applicants for international asylum from the aforementioned countries will no longer be sent to Turkey; instead, each case must be assessed individually.

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