Two (2) years after launching the Complaints Mechanism
The major challenges which arose following the large-scale arrivals of third-country nationals into EU and especially into Greece highlighted the imperative need at European level for the creation and operation of mechanisms that will provide safeguards for the effective protection of the fundamental rights of migrants arriving at EU borders.
In line with these requirements, Greece proceeded in 2022 to the establishment of the Special Committee for Fundamental Rights Compliance, by article 50 of L. 4960/2022, and the institution of the Fundamental Rights Officer (FRO) at the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, by article 49 of the same, as a proof of the country’s commitment to fully respect and promote fundamental rights and to comply with all relevant obligations as provided for, in national, EU and international legislation.
Greece is the only country in the European Union that has established at a national level the institution of the Fundamental Rights Officer.
One of the FRO’s main duties is to collect and proceed to the preliminary assessment of complaints about alleged violations of fundamental rights of third-country nationals. These violations are related to actions and/or omissions of public authorities and may be identified during entry into the country, reception and procedures for granting international protection. Following their preliminary assessment, complaints, when deemed as admissible, are transferred to the National Transparency Authority or to the competent bodies. The FRO is then kept constantly informed of their progress and informs respectively the complainants.
For this purpose, a Fundamental Rights Complaints Mechanism was established and has been fully operational since the 26th of September 2023, providing the opportunity for third-country nationals to fill in and submit standardized complaint forms, available in Greek and English, while upholding the confidentiality and personal data protection guarantees. To be considered as admissible, a submitted complaint, after having met the standard external and formal requirements, must be sufficiently clear, relevant, complete and well-founded.
Detailed results for the period from the 26th of September 2023 until the 26th of September 2025 are available in the attached file.
