Act of Legislative Content 

Suspension of the submission of asylum applications

The President of the Hellenic Republic,

Bearing in mind:

1. Paragraph 1 of Article 44 of the Constitution 

2. The extraordinary circumstances of the urgent and unforeseeable necessity to confront an asymmetrical threat to the national security, which prevails over the reasoning for applying the rules of EU law and international law on asylum procedures, and the absolute and objective inability of the country to examine, within a reasonable period of time, asylum applications that would be submitted as a consequence of the illegal mass entry into the country;

3. The sovereign right and the constitutional obligation of the Hellenic Republic to safeguard its integrity, and its right to take any measure to this effect;

4. The relevant proposal of the Ministerial Council,

    We decide: 

First Article - Suspension of the submission of asylum applications

1. The submission of asylum applications by individuals who enter the country illegally from the time the current Act takes effect is suspended. These individuals will be returned, without registration, to the country of departure or to the country of origin. 

2. Paragraph 1 shall remain in force for one (1) month.

3. The duration of the provision of paragraph 2 may be shortened by an Act of the Ministerial Council.

Second Article - Entry into force 

The validity of the present Act, which will be ratified by law according to Article 44 paragraph 1 of the Constitution, takes effect as of 1.March 2020. 

Athens, 2 March 2020  

The President of the Hellenic Republic

The Prime Minister

The Members of the Ministerial Council