The Workings of the Screening Regulation:
Juxtaposing proposed EU rules with the Greek reception
and identification procedure
JANUARY 2021
On 23rd of September, the European Commission presented its proposal for a new Screening Regulation as part of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. While it has been uniformly agreed that the current asylum system needs to be redesigned, the proposed Screening Regulation does not address the issues civil society organizations, human rights watchdogs and international NGOs have been raising.
The majority of the provisions of the new Regulation take as inspiration provisions from Greek legislation. Greece has been, among other EU states, the first country of entry for many asylum seekers due to its geographic position. Among topics that have been addressed are:
Transparency and accountability of Frontex support in reception and identification procedures
Deprivation of liberty of persons on the move
Medical checks and vulnerability assessment
The correlation table examines provisions to be included in the new Screening Regulation with existent Greek law and draws comparison between the two legislative acts. In addition, it describes the practice of authorities in implementing the law and describes irregularities and potential and existent human rights violations.
The EU Commission's proposal of a legislative act mirroring legislation that has been drafted and implemented in ways that violate human rights is lowering minimum standards and does not consititute reform of the Asylum System to comply with EU proclaimed Fundamental Rights.
The information provided in the correlation table has been collected through a collaborative effort of civil society organisations Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), HIAS Greece, Greek Council for Refugees, Danish Refugee Council, Legal Centre Lesvos, FENIX Humanitarian Legal Aid, ActionAid Hellas and Mobile Info Team and legal practitioners.
