New Pact on Immigration and Asylum: Unacceptable regression in the protection of asylum seekers

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New Pact on Immigration and Asylum: Unacceptable regression in the protection of asylum seekers

Refugee Support Aegean | 11 July 2024

New Pact on Immigration and Asylum: Unacceptable regression in the protection of asylum seekers

The recent adoption of the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) in May 2024 marked the deconstruction of EU rules and the annulment of basic security guarantees for the protection of refugees, as well as the establishment of wide-ranging derogation regimes and violations of the rule of law.

Refugee Support in the Aegean (RSA) reiterates that the amendment of the CEAS constitutes an unacceptable regression of the minimum guarantees in the field of asylum that have been achieved through hard work, legislation, court challenges and binding jurisprudential developments over the last two decades. It will inevitably weaken the protection of refugees' rights in violation of international and EU law.

Furthermore, we stress that provisions of the new CEAS directly violate primary EU law, as they do not comply with the 1951 Geneva Convention, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and other international conventions that form the foundation of the CEAS. One way of complying with these binding texts is to ensure that any provisions of the European regulations that are contrary to these conventions remain unenforceable.

In the meantime, the European Commission has published a joint implementation plan to guide Member States in preparing their respective national implementation plans for the CIP by the end of 2024. These plans will outline the legislative, administrative and operational changes to be introduced to bring national asylum systems in line with the new legislative framework by the time of its implementation in June 2026.

We consider it necessary to consult with civil society in view of the preparation and submission of the Greek implementation plan of the New Pact on Immigration and Asylum to the European Commission by the end of the year. Therefore, with this paper, we selectively analyse some of the key concepts and amendments to the asylum system included in the reform of the CEAS, with the aim of highlighting the main issues and violations in relation to its upcoming implementation.

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