Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on when Greece will have taken steps to ensure that its asylum system is compliant with Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights on 21 January 2011 in the case of MSS vs Belgium and Greece.

The Asylum Agency in Greece was founded in 2011 in response to criticism of the previous system and the case of MSS v. Belgium and Greece. The same law adapted Greek legislation to Directive 2008/115/EC on returning illegally residing third country nationals and related issues.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe monitors the case of MSS v. Belgium and Greece under the “enhanced supervision” procedure. They last considered it in December 2015 and will do so again in December 2016. There was no debate in 2015, which means the Secretariat were satisfied with the information Greece had provided.

The UN’s Universal Periodic Review of Greece will take place in early May. The review will cover the full range of human rights in Greece, including the asylum system. Greece’s self-assessment will be available on the website of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.