Greece is pushing the European Union to allow member states to suspend the right to apply for asylum during mass irregul...

Greece is pushing the European Union to allow member states to suspend the right to apply for asylum during mass irregular migration events. Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris presented the proposal Thursday at the EU Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, calling it a "Special Derogation Regime" that would only activate under exceptional circumstances. The mechanism would be triggered when there is a rapid surge in irregular arrivals, strain on local infrastructure, and evidence that migration flows are being organized or facilitated by non-EU governments. Once triggered, it would allow temporary suspension of asylum applications, fast-tracked returns, and immediate Frontex deployment. The proposal would mark one of the most significant shifts in EU migration law in decades. Under current rules, every person on EU soil has the right to have their asylum claim assessed individually. Greece's plan would allow collective returns without that individual review, something currently prohibited under EU law. Several major EU countries are signaling support. Poland, Germany, Austria, and Denmark have all expressed openness to the idea. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said normal asylum procedures cannot apply when a mass influx is clearly driven by smuggling networks rather than genuine humanitarian need. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner put it bluntly, saying that if 70,000 people arrive in a single day, "you cannot work with the previous rules." Greece has already used similar emergency measures domestically, suspending asylum processing for one month in March 2020 and again for three months in July 2025 after a spike in sea arrivals from Libya. Poland introduced a comparable measure on its Belarus border in March 2025. The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from left-wing politicians, migration legal experts, and civil society organizations, who argue suspending a fundamental right would be unprecedented and could strip away existing legal protections for vulnerable people. EU ministers also approved a separate "Return Regulation" at the same meeting, greenlighting deportation centers outside the EU, known as return hubs, through agre...