The European Commission has warned Greece that it must uphold the right to asylum, as EU leaders travel to Athens for talks on the migrant crisis at the bloc's borders. Ylva Johansson, EU commissioner for home affairs, said she wanted to discuss a detention centre where asylum seekers were reportedly beaten and expelled without legal recourse.
According to The New York Times, a 'black site' in north-eastern Greece holds migrants before they are expelled to Turkey without the chance to speak to a lawyer or claim asylum. Johansson said she would raise the issue with Greek ministers on Thursday, stating: 'Of course you can have detention for some period of people that have come, but of course you can't beat them.'
The Commission has faced criticism for not enforcing EU law after Greece suspended asylum applications for one month earlier this month, a move contrary to European law and the Geneva Convention. While the UN refugee agency says the decision has no legal basis, the Commission has said it needs time to assess the situation. Johansson sidestepped the question of legality, insisting that Greece must allow people to apply for asylum.
Johansson also ruled out invoking Article 78.3 of the EU treaty to suspend asylum rights, stating: 'Individuals in the European Union have the right to apply for asylum. This is in the treaty, this is in international law. This we can't suspend.' The commissioner was due to visit Greece with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who faced criticism for calling Greece Europe's 'shield'. Von der Leyen postponed her trip to focus on the coronavirus.
Tensions escalated earlier this month when Turkey opened its borders, sending migrants towards Greece and adding pressure on the country, where thousands live in squalid camps on the islands. Johansson has pledged to revive a long-blocked reform of the EU asylum system, favouring a 'mandatory solidarity mechanism', though details remain to be finalised.
