The Netherlands may only send rejected asylum seekers back to Greece if it is clearly established in advance that they can receive legal assistance from a lawyer there. This was ruled by the highest judicial authority in The Hague in a first case requested by the Dutch authorities regarding the interpretation of a new European directive.
At the time, the government did not process the asylum applications of two fleeing Syrians because they had entered Europe through Greece. European rules then stipulated that refugees could only apply for asylum in the country of arrival. That so-called Dublin rule was called into question due to the large influx of refugees.
The two Syrians relied on the poor conditions in the asylum centers on the Greek islands and argued that they therefore could not be sent back. According to the Council of State, this is possible, but only if guaranteed access to legal aid is provided locally. However, what this means for the deportation policy remains unclear.
In fact, deportations of 'Dublin asylum seekers' to Greece have been at a standstill since 2011. At that time, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the conditions there were too poor to implement the Dublin regulation. As a result, most other EU countries also ceased sending asylum seekers back to Greece.
In 2016, the European Commission stated that conditions had improved sufficiently to gradually resume sending “non-vulnerable” foreigners back to Greece. The cases of the two Syrians were among the first attempts made by the Netherlands then. The highest judicial authorities have now ruled that sending people back is only allowed if legal assistance on site is guaranteed.