Greek parliament approves controversial amendment to curb migrant influx from Libya

​​​​​​​ATHENS

Greek parliament approved a controversial amendment Friday to curb migrant influx from Libya.

The amendment, proposed by the migration ministry, passed with the support of 177 lawmakers from the ruling central-right New Democracy party, the right-wing Greek Solution, as well as some independent lawmakers.

Of the 293 lawmakers who were present during the vote in parliament, social-democratic PASOK and far-right NIKI parties abstained, while left-wing opposition parties of SYRIZA, the Greek Communist Party (KKE), the Course of Freedom, and the New Left voted against the amendment.

The amendment mandates that, for three months, those arriving by sea from North African countries without official permission will be barred from submitting asylum requests. The individuals may be sent back to their countries of origin or departure without formal registration.

The government justifies the move as an exercise of sovereign authority and constitutional obligation to protect national integrity.

But the amendment sparked serious domestic and international concerns.

The UN refugee agency (UNCHR) said it recognizes the pressure created by migrant influx arriving from Libya to Crete and states’ right to control their borders, but measures in this direction of the amendment should be in line with EU and international law.

Underlining that to seek asylum is a fundamental human right, even at times of migratory pressure, it said, “States must ensure that people seeking asylum have access to asylum procedures. Returning people to a place where they would face threats to their life or freedom would breach the principle of non-refoulement. “

Likewise, on Wednesday, former Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos drew attention to the potential unconstitutionality of the amendment, criticizing the government administration for invoking Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to pass the extraordinary measure.

Should the government insist on invoking the ECHR, it could entail applying Article 48 of the Greek Constitution, he warned. Article 48 outlines when the president can declare a state of seize and related emergency powers.

Today, during the debate of the amendment, KKE denounced the “shameful amendment.”

Moreover, the leader of the Course of Freedom party, Zoi Konstantopoulou, likened it to the authoritarian approaches of Hungarian Premier Viktor Orban and US President Donald Trump.

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