Treating human beings fleeing conflict and persecution as bargaining chips in larger political fights is unacceptable and inhumane. For this reason, the treatment of asylum seekers by governments and European institutions as mere “weapons”, “hybrid attacks” and “threats” equally dehumanises those seeking safety, and completely disregards the reasons that made people flee their country of origin or country of habitual residency. The framing of people seeking asylum as ‘hybrid threats’ has only served as a justification for violent border procedures and a crackdown on civil society and has contributed extensively to the destruction of the right to seek asylum in the EU.
As tensions between Greece and Türkiye continue to increase - due to the rise of inflation, economic crisis, and upcoming elections - anti-migration rhetoric and anti-refugee rhetoric are growing in both countries. This inflammatory public discourse is transforming people fleeing conflicts and persecution into another bargaining chip in a larger geopolitical stand-off.[1] People trying to cross from Türkiye into Greece describe “a geopolitical ping-pong game, being pushed back and forth across the land border by Greek and Turkish authorities for weeks”.[2] While people seeking asylum should not be treated as means to an end, Greece has been doing just that: utilising Türkiye's behaviour and “illegal” migration narratives to frame people in need of protection as a hybrid threat to national security.
While these narratives and practices are in clear violation of Greece’s binding obligations, they have been proven to be effective in the past. On 27 February2020, Türkiye “opened its borders” for people to cross into Greece, and the EU at large. This was widely perceived as a breach of the EU-Türkiye Statement, and an attempt by Türkiye to use asylum seekers as a way to pressure theEuropean Union.[3] In response, on 2 March 2020, the Greek Government announced the suspension of the right to seek asylum for one month.[4] Throughout this 30 day period, 2.000 asylum seekers were detained in the open air, and were denied humanitarian and legal assistance.[5] Later, those who were considered vulnerable were transferred to Moria camp, but the majority of people were transferred to facilities in Malakassa and Serres on the mainland.[6] Simultaneously, Greek authorities carried out violent and illegal deportations on maritime borders near the Eastern Aegean Islands,[7] as well as in the Evros Region, where asylum seekers were shot and tear-gassed.[8] Violence and hostility towards people seeking asylum and humanitarian workers reached a boiling point during this time.[9] Although the practice of illegal pushbacks was not invented, nor used for the first time in Greece during this period, the implementation of deterrence policies justified by the weaponisation of migrations by Türkiye became the rule at this time.[10] Recently, the UNSpecial Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants confirmed that “[i]n Greece, pushbacks at land and sea borders have become de facto general policy”.[11]
However, regardless of the mounting evidence, Greece’s response to reports of illegal deportations is one of denial, shifting blame and suppression. Greek authorities repress the monitoring of and reporting on border crimes. In May 2021, a reporting team from Dutch broadcaster VPRO was arbitrarily detained while documenting a pushback in the Evros border region.[12] In recent months, it has become clear that the Greek Intelligence Service (EYP), has been spying on journalists, including on Solomon’s reporter Stavros Malichudis for consistently reporting on migration.[13] Reports of illegal deportations by the Greek coast guard and police are consistently labelled as fake news based on Turkish propaganda.[14] In response to a critical letter written by the chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament to the European Commission concerning illegal deportations of people on the Greek-Turkish border, Greek authorities claimed that LIBE’s information is “unsourced and based on Turkish briefings”.[15] In June 2022, Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, stated that Türkiye has been encouraging “illegal departures”, which he then coined as “push-forwards” during an appearance at the European Parliament to exchange views with LIBE Committee.[16] Greece has described Türkiye as a “pirate state in the Aegean”, while further accusing the neighbouring country of manoeuvring asylum seekers into Greek territories.[17] Finally, in light of increasing border crossings in the Evros river, the Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence led by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced the extension of the Evros border fence by 80 kilometres, an increase in patrols along the border, and an upgrade of electronic monitoring capabilities, to further fortify an already extremely militarised border.[18]
The portrayal of people seeking asylum in Greek media has also drastically changed in comparison to previous years, as people crossing from Türkiye into Greece are increasingly described as economic migrants, “illegal migrants” and “weapons” used by Türkiye to destabilise Greece.[19] This rhetorical line that describes people seeking refuge as “hybrid weapons'' and “illegal” or even “fake” refugees leads to moral panic of the hosting societies, and to the blame of people fleeing conflict and persecution for the steady deterioration of the welfare state. This discourse not only allows the acceptance of illegal practices against those seeking protection, as allows the severe restriction of the space of humanitarian workers, NGOs and civil society at large.[20] Civil society organisations monitoring unlawful removals of asylum seekers from Greek territory face intimidation and criminalisation through the misuse of the Greek legal system,[21]and creates “an atmosphere of fear – particularly a fear of criminalisation” as described by Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.[22]
In other words, Greece uses the potential threat of weaponisation to justify further restrictive and hostile policies. Instead of taking accountability for its mistreatment of people in search of safety, Greece shifts its responsibility for illegal deportations to others - Türkiye, NGOs, journalists, asylum seekers and refugees.
The practice of framing people seeking asylum as hybrid threats is not exclusive to Greece, nonetheless. Instead of expressing concern about Greece’s violent unlawful expulsions in March 2020, Ursula von der Leyen, President of theEuropean Commission, expressed her support for Greece’s efforts to stop people crossing into the EU, while describing Greece as Europe's “shield”, and focussing on Türkiye’s use of people as means to an end.[23] In 2021, the European Commission called the sponsorship of migrants a form of “hybrid warfare”.[24]
More recently, the Proposal for the Regulation addressing situations of instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum[25] presented by the European Commission is just another example of the dismantling of the Common European Asylum System in name of the protection against the destabilisation.[26] Indeed, this Proposal introduces a definition of instrumentalisation and a permanent mechanism which allows Member States to excuse from their obligations under EU asylum law in situations of “instrumentalisation”.[27]
If this proposal is adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, the GreekGovernment, and other European governments for that matter, will have its illegitimate discourse and illegal practices legitimised and legalised. While Member States already hide behind the political argument of the weaponisation of asylum seekers to implement these measures, this is not currently an acceptable legal justification. The adoption of the Instrumentalisation Regulation will reduce the possibility to hold the Greek Government and other governments accountable, and will offer a legal basis for their violent actions against those seeking safety - including the militarisation of its borders, the pushbacks, the clamp down on civil society, and the repression of independent reporting.[28]
The EU and its Member States do not need legislation which further restricts the rights of people seeking international protection. Instead, the solution to weaponisation is twofold. Firstly, if Member States, or the EU for that matter, are committed to preventing third countries from weaponising people in need of safety, the focus should be on accessible legal pathways to protection. This would make asylum seekers significantly less vulnerable to being used by third countries, as they would no longer need to rely on irregular channels to reach safety. Secondly, a change of narrative surrounding migration is crucial. When opposing migration, politicians often cite a lack of capacity, and looming societal demise caused by an influx of new residents.[29] However, the past six months have proven that the often cited “lack of capacity” is in reality a lack of political will, as Member States have opened their borders and societies to people fleeing Ukraine.[30]
It is high time that the EU and its Member States abandon narratives of xenophobia and racism used to justify inhumane migration policies. The EU has the capacity, ability as well as a legal and moral obligation to protect those in search of asylum. We call on the EU, and specifically on Greece, to put an end to the use of narratives of weaponisation and fear mongering, as a tool to justify the further militarisation of Europe’s borders and the hostile and illegal treatment of asylum seekers. More specifically, we urge both the European Parliament and the Member State to reject the Instrumentalisation Regulation, and generally the legalisation of the mistreatment of people seeking international protection.
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