Motion for a resolution | Doc. 13975 | 03 February 2016

Refugees at risk in Greece

Signatories: Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Utku ÇAKIRÖZER, Turkey, SOC ; Ms Anastasia CHRISTODOULOPOULOU, Greece, UEL ; Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, SOC ; Mr Boriss CILEVIČS, Latvia, SOC ; Mr Manlio DI STEFANO, Italy, NR ; Mr Tuur ELZINGA, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Doris FIALA, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Annette GROTH, Germany, UEL ; Mr Omar HEJIRA, Morocco ; Ms Eva-Lena JANSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Kristin Ørmen JOHNSEN, Norway, EPP/CD ; Mr Ögmundur JÓNASSON, Iceland, UEL ; Ms Vasiliki KATRIVANOU, Greece, UEL ; Ms Ioanneta KAVVADIA, Greece, UEL ; Mr Tiny KOX, Netherlands, UEL ; Ms Athina KYRIAKIDOU, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Philippe MAHOUX, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Marit MAIJ, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Milica MARKOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC ; Mr Killion MUNYAMA, Poland, EPP/CD ; Mr Nicos NICOLAIDES, Cyprus, SOC ; Mr Michele NICOLETTI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Cezar Florin PREDA, Romania, EPP/CD ; Ms Helena ROSETA, Portugal, SOC ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Paul SCHNABEL, Netherlands, ALDE ; Mr Nico SCHRIJVER, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Petra De SUTTER, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Burhanettin UYSAL, Turkey, EC ; Mr Evangelos VENIZELOS, Greece, SOC ; Mr Sergiy VLASENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Greece is confronted with the arrival by sea of enormous numbers of people seeking protection in Europe. The Greek islands struggle to cope with this challenge, and because of the partial closing of the borders by "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", many asylum seekers are not able to seek protection beyond Greece. As the European Union agreements on relocation are not being implemented, ever more asylum seekers are stuck in Greece. Due to the difficulties that the Greek asylum system, which falls short of European standards, will have in responding to the protection needs of asylum seekers stuck in Greece, those asylum seekers don’t have any guarantee of effective protection.

As Greece is clearly the front-State and human rights are at stake, it is important to assess the current situation for refugees, from the Aegean Sea to the border with "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". This will enable the Parliamentary Assembly to adopt timely recommendations on how to guarantee access to protection and a sharing of responsibility within Europe.