On the 3th of February 2023, the Greek Council of State submitted preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding domestic legislation designating Türkiye as a safe third country for certain categories of applicants for international protection. The Council further requested the application of the expedited procedure. These preliminary questions include:
a) Must Article 38 of the Asylum Procedures Directive be interpreted as precluding national legislation that designates a third country as safe for certain applicants for international protection and that country has undertaken the legal obligation to readmit those categories of applicants to its territory, but it follows that for a long time (in casu, more than twenty months) this country has refused readmissions and that the possibility to change the country’s attitude in the near future does not appear to have been explored? Or,
b) Must this Article be interpreted as meaning that readmission to the third country is not a cumulative condition for the adoption of the national act designating a third country as safe for these categories of applicants, but it is a cumulative condition for the adoption of an individual act rejecting a specific application for international protection as inadmissible on the ground of ‘safe third country’? Or,
c) Must Article 38 be interpreted as meaning that the possibility of readmission to the ‘safe third country’ must be established only at the time of enforcement of the decision, where that decision to reject the application for international protection is based on the ‘safe third country’ ground?
Based on an unofficial translation from within the EWLU team.