Greece urges EU to allow temporary asylum suspension during mass arrivals

Greece has urged the European Union to permit member states to temporarily suspend asylum applications during periods of mass migration, placing emergency border measures at the centre of discussions among EU interior ministers.

The proposal was presented at a Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday. It appeared to receive support from some member states, although the available information does not indicate that it was formally adopted or define how long any suspension could last.

Greece calls for emergency powers

Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris said the EU’s migration pact, which took effect in June, had strengthened the bloc’s ability to manage migration flows but did not provide sufficient tools for large-scale emergencies.

“In such cases, there should be enhanced border surveillance and suspension of asylum,” Plevris told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Several EU member states share the view that the pact does not go far enough in addressing sudden, large-scale movements of people. Dutch Migration Minister Bart van den Brink said arrivals such as those recorded in Ceuta should be handled primarily as a border-management matter rather than an asylum issue.

Spain estimates that more than 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta in late July, while about 10,000 remained after most had returned.

Rights remain a condition

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said Europe needed stronger capacity to protect its borders, while stressing that any new measures would remain subject to international law and fundamental rights.

“When movements are engineered and weaponised against us, this is not just a migration issue; it is a security issue,” Brunner said. “Of course we will always comply with fundamental rights and values.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced two weeks earlier that the Commission would present an emergency framework to help member states respond to sudden, large-scale arrivals. The verified information does not indicate that the framework had been presented at the Luxembourg meeting.

Irregular arrivals across the EU are down 35 percent this year, while returns increased by about 8 percent during the first half of the year. Migration remains politically sensitive across Europe following the arrival of more than one million people in the bloc in 2015, many of them Syrians fleeing war.

Ministers approve return-hub rules

EU ministers also approved a return regulation allowing member states to establish return hubs outside the European Union. The measure is intended to support the return of people who are not permitted to remain in the bloc.

Officials from Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Denmark met on the sidelines of the council meeting as the Group of Five discussed arrangements for a possible hub. A technical mission visited a potential host country in early September, with the country expected to be identified by the end of the year and transfers targeted to begin in 2027.

The potential host country has not been publicly identified in the verified information. Two European Parliament politicians have said Rwanda held preliminary discussions with some EU countries about hosting a return facility, citing talks with Rwandan officials. That claim does not establish that Rwanda will host the facility.