Leftist members of the European Parliament, during a Wednesday debate, demanded that the European Commission open an infringement procedure (Article 7) against Greece over the alleged mistreatment of illegal migrants and asylum-seekers. The MEPs accused Athens of “massive and sustained” human rights violations as well as neglect leading to the death of hundreds in the Pylos shipwreck last year.
The behavior of Greek authorities toward migrants, extreme-Left MEP Cornelia Ernst said, is part of a “deep-rooted culture of violence at the EU’s borders,” as she urged the Commission to launch legal action against Athens before the EU elections, which are less than five months away.
“At what point will the Commission conclude that the [Greek] national authorities are not complying with EU law?” chimed in Sophie in ‘t Veld, from the liberal Renew group.
Greece’s conservative, anti-migration government has been accused of rule-of-law violations sporadically in the past, but these calls are becoming increasingly frequent since the ruling New Democracy party was re-elected last year with record support.
Last week, the European Parliament’s plenary narrowly adopted a resolution calling for an infringement procedure and freezing of Greek EU funds over several issues, including its migration management practices. Athens was quick to respond by saying the document was nothing more than a ploy meant to undermine the conservative government’s success and popularity.
Wednesday’s committee hearing about migration management in Greece provided the perfect opportunity for Eurocrats to keep hammering Athens and sustain the pressure on the Commission.
“Incredible violence and abuse”
The first part of the hearing in the Civil Liberties (LIBE) committee was organized in response to a recent report detailing alleged migrant abuse by Greek authorities released by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an NGO that is frequently invited to the Parliament to criticize member states on the external borders of the EU, often prompting heated debates between the MEPs.
MSF’s report, written after concluding 50 interviews with asylum seekers in Greece, claims many migrants are “trapped in vicious cycles of violence, pushbacks, and repetitive dangerous crossings” due to Greek authorities’ hostility, including turning back vessels and sometimes even damaging the boats leaving them adrift. The report also accuses Greek authorities of physical assault, humiliation, and unlawful detention once migrants have come ashore.
Perhaps anticipating the leftist attacks that would come after the MSF presentation, the EU’s director-general for migration and home affairs, Beate Gminder, took a moment to remind everyone that preventing illegal migration was a “legal obligation” of all member states.
“National authorities at the external borders have a legitimate duty to prevent irregular entries … and discourage persons from circumventing the checks at the border crossing points,” Gminder said, adding that “it is important to remember this legal obligation and how difficult it is in practice.”
Naturally, the leftist members did not care too much about such nuances, but Gminder’s intervention was enough to put a target on her back as well. “Is there still some humanity left in there?” in ‘t Veld asked the Commission representative, outraged that she dared to talk about proper procedure.
As for the accusations, an MEP of the Greek ruling party was ready to answer. MEP Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi (EPP) cited official data that show Athens is rescuing about 60,000 migrants from the sea every year, adding that some of its over 30 reception centers have been just recently visited by a delegation from the Commission, recognizing the good conditions.
The Hellenic Coast Guard are not the “monsters” described by the report, she concluded, but “modern-day heroes” who save tens of thousands despite the difficult circumstances and the heavy workload under which they operate.
The “cabal” defaming Greece
The second part of the hearing focused on Athens’s ongoing criminal investigations into the circumstances of the Pylos shipwreck in June last year and whether the Coast Guard was in any way complicit in the tragedy.
Over 600 out of the 750 migrants crammed onto the smugglers’ vessel lost their lives when it capsized and sank off the Greek coast on June 14th. Nine surviving human traffickers were charged later, while the investigation continues into the possibility of criminal neglect on the Greek Coast Guard’s part.
Despite not even preliminary findings having been published, the room—as well as the other guest, a representative for Amnesty International—were convinced of the authorities’ guilt. The NGO claimed that it was the Coast Guard patrol ship sent out to check on the vessel that caused it to capsize by attempting to tow it away, despite no evidence to confirm that.
“You say that a dangerous maneuver caused the incident like this was proven. It’s not,” an increasingly annoyed Vozemberg-Vrionidi replied, asking everyone to respect the investigation and stop drawing conclusions prematurely.
Her leftist colleagues, however, did not seem to care about what the law had to say. “Are we waiting maybe for years until an outcome that we cannot trust?” the Greens’ Tineke Strik asked, joining the others in their call for penalizing Athens regardless of the findings.
Frontex’s—the EU’s border control agency’s—director Hans Leijtens, also present in the room, tried to calm the nerves by saying that it is easy to say things could have been done differently in hindsight, but everything was done under established procedures and based on the information available at that time.
Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis, who joined via live stream, assured the room that his office was doing everything in its power to make sure the investigation is “as comprehensive as possible.”
At the same time, Pottakis stressed that it was important to persecute any actual neglect but also to respect the facts and not engage in politically motivated witch hunts by a “cabal, so to speak, of those who intentionally defame the Greek state.”
