GREECE: Migration and humanitarian aid CSOs to face harsh registration requirements
A significant Ministerial Decision on the Establishment of the Register of Greek and Foreign Non-Governmental Organizations (No. 82876) was adopted on 8 May in Greece. This regulation establishes mandatory registration requirements for all CSOs active in social and humanitarian activities, international protection, migration, or social integration.
The requirement to register laid out in the ministerial decision includes any organisation which cooperates with public authorities, receives state or EU funding, or has any presence within facilities of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. Among the most harmful provisions, the decision requires CSOs to register all of their staff and partners regardless of the person’s role or presence within Ministry of Migration and Asylum facilities. Additionally, CSO staff or legal representatives must submit copies of their criminal records and declarations affirming that no criminal prosecution has been initiated against them for any felony and that no final conviction exists for a broad range of listed crimes, including slanderous defamation and illegal trafficking of third-country nationals. This information requires annual updates, and failure to comply can lead to removal of the organisation from the registry.
These new requirements risk creating burdensome bureaucratic requirements for CSOs, taking up time and resources that could otherwise be devoted to their actual work, as well as creating a stigmatising and delegitimising effect on civic action connected to the work on migrant’s rights, humanitarian aid and international protection. International bodies, such as the Council of International NGOs within the Council of Europe, have criticised the new ministerial decision and the restrictions it imposes on civil society.