UNHCR intervention at the hearing of actors regarding the draft law on the “Implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum”

Honourable Mr. President and members of the Committee,

Honourable Minister, Honourable Deputy Minister

We would like to thank the Committee for inviting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to participate in today’s hearing of actors.
UNHCR has already submitted to the Committee and its members a detailed Commentary on the proposed provisions, as well as a relevant Memorandum.

As a preliminary remark, I would like to emphasize that UNHCR considers the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum an important step toward a more coherent, predictable, and well-managed EU legislative framework. However, its overall success and effectiveness will depend on its implementation, both in law and in practice, and on full respect of essential safeguards. Coherent laws and consistent practice will allow the EU and its member states to respond effectively and sustainably to displacement challenges.

UNHCR would like to welcome the following main positive elements of the draft law:

1. The inclusion of the National Strategy for the protection of unaccompanied minors in the draft law, together with the proposed reforms to the National Guardianship System, is expected to address existing gaps, such as, for example, more timely appointments of guardians (Art. 51 and 65).
2. The introduction of appeal deadlines set at the upper limits foreseen under the Pact, strengthening the right to an effective remedy, and more flexible alternatives to strict personal appearance before the Independent Appeals Committees, reflecting a proportionate approach consistent with relevant CJEU case law (Art. 140).
3. The deletion of provisions on extraordinary national measures included in the initial draft submitted for public consultation, which would have allowed the adoption of measures beyond those foreseen in the Crisis Regulation through a simple Act of the Cabinet of Ministers. The adjusted draft provision is now in accordance with the rationale and the objective for harmonized (instead of unilateral) measures under the EU Crisis Regulation.

Conversely, UNHCR would like to draw the attention of Parliament to specific provisions of the draft law on which UNHCR expresses concern and recommends that they be revisited.

These can be summarized in the following thematic regulatory areas:

1. Screening and border procedures

   The deadlines for the screening should start at the time of the apprehension, not at the time of any subsequent administrative step such as the transfer to or the arrival at a Screening Centre, for the purposes of alignment with the Screening Regulation and of legal clarity on the status and corresponding rights of the newly arriving persons between arrival and initiation of screening (Art. 10). Moreover, further clarity is required on the stage and the responsible authority to decide on the channelling to the appropriate type of the asylum procedure of new arrivals (border, accelerated or regular), in a manner that this decision follows the screening procedures and the registration of the asylum application (Art.11).

2. Restriction of freedom of movement and detention

   The additional measure of prohibition of exit from the screening facility, which is not foreseen by the Reception Conditions Directive (RCD) as measure of “restriction of freedom of movement” and may amount to arbitrary deprivation of liberty/de facto detention due to its intensity (and for “detention”, other provisions of the RCD and the draft law apply), may need to be revisited and possibly deleted (Art.23). Also, the increase of the initial detention period from 50 to 90 days and the absence of ex-officio judicial review, which would constitute a setback in safeguards compared to the current framework, needs to be revisited as well (Art.25).

   UNHCR would like to re-iterate that detention entails hardship and imposes restriction to a core fundamental right, that of personal liberty, thus it should be a measure of last resort and proportionate. It should only serve a legitimate aim and, particularly for asylum seekers, the measure may be applied exceptionally and under strictly circumscribed circumstances foreseen in the law. Detention should be avoided for vulnerable individuals and children should not be detained for immigration related purposes. Alternatives to detention should always be explored in priority.

3. Treatment of unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups

   The Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) foresees that if the “necessary support” cannot be provided, vulnerable asylum seekers should be exempted from accelerated or border procedures. Taking into consideration that the definition of “necessary support” proposed in the draft law (Art. 104) includes measures that are insufficient to ensure effective support or to justify the application of accelerated or border procedures, UNHCR, for better protection of rights as well as for the economy of the administrative procedures, recommends the automatic exemption of specific categories of vulnerable (such as unaccompanied minors, survivors of trafficking and GBV, and persons with disabilities) from accelerated or border procedures. Alternatively, the definition of “necessary support” should be revisited so as additional measures are foreseen to increase safeguards for the vulnerable under these procedures.

   The draft law foresees the use of “safe zones” as permanent modality of accommodation for unaccompanied minors (Art. 40), as well as the possibility for unaccompanied minors to be accommodated together with adults (Art. 82). UNHCR recommends revisiting these provisions. According to international and EU law standards, children should not be detained and, on the contrary, be accommodated in specialized, child-appropriate facilities that ensure their safety and uphold their best interests.

4. Pre-integration measures, access to work and social rights

   UNHCR is of the view that a number of proposed provisions in the draft law are introducing new obstacles to the self-reliance and integration of beneficiaries of international protection, to the detriment of their social rights, as enshrined in international and EU law, and of the benefits that would come to the local labor market and the private sector from the contribution of asylum seekers and refugees. UNHCR recommends that these provisions be revisited:

   While the RCD doesn’t foresee such exception, in the draft law, asylum applicants under the border procedures are excluded from access to language courses and vocational training (Art.31). In the same spirit, the optional clause of the RCD is used for their exclusion from access to work, along with those under accelerated procedures (Art.32). It is reminded that applicants channeled to the accelerated or border procedures may finally receive positive decisions for recognition of status and, thus, they should be given the opportunity to be promoted to employment at an early stage.

   The draft law further makes use of the optional clause of the RCD and (a) foresees that the approval of the employment of applicants may be subject to the condition that existing vacancies in the specific sector of employment and specific area of placement of the applicants, cannot be filled by Greek citizens, by citizens of the European Union, or by third-country nationals or stateless persons lawfully residing in the country (Art. 32 para. 2) and (b) imposes restrictions on equal treatment in access to education- and training-related benefits (para.3). The above provisions, introducing serious barriers, will increase the difficulties of employers to recruit asylum seekers and refugees, through adding more cumbersome administrative procedures. This may be particularly critical for sectors with structural workforce shortages, such as agriculture, construction and tourism.

   The draft law makes access to social assistance conditional on participation in mandatory integration measures, which may be subject to a fee for those deemed to have sufficient means (Art. 174-175). UNHCR notes that this raises concerns regarding compatibility with EU law, which requires integration measures to be accessible and free of charge, and warns that financial or practical barriers may effectively restrict access to integration measures and, thus, to social assistance. Additional concerns relate to the potential absence of fully operational integration programmes, lack of certification mechanisms for participation, and unclear consequences for non-participation, which risk undermining legal certainty and proportionality. UNHCR therefore recommends ensuring that integration measures are fully operational, accessible, and free of charge before introducing conditionality, alongside transitional safeguards, clear certification systems, and precise, proportionate rules on the consequences of non-participation.

In closing

UNHCR remains at the disposal of the State and Parliament for technical support, dialogue and cooperation, with the aim of shaping a system that combines effectiveness in management of migration and refugee flows while it respects fundamental rights and strengthens social cohesion.

Thank you very much for your attention.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Representation in Greece, 2 June 2026

Read the Memorandum here