The European Commission decided to initiate an infringement procedure by sending a warning letter to Greece, Belgium, Spain and Portugal, as they did not fully transpose into national law all the provisions of the directive regarding the requirements for admission of applicants for international protection. .

Ensuring full compliance with the Reception Conditions Directive is an essential condition for the proper functioning of the Common European Asylum System and the Commission is following closely how all Member States have transposed this legislation into national legislation. The Commission considers that Greece and three other Member States have mistranslated certain provisions of the directive and now have two months to respond to the Commission’s arguments. The Commission, if it does not receive a satisfactory answer, may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

In addition, the Commission calls on Greece to comply with the directive on the recognition of persons as beneficiaries of international protection. The Commission decided to initiate an infringement procedure by sending a warning letter to Greece as it did not transpose all the provisions of the directive in full compliance with national law.

Ensuring full compliance with this directive is an essential condition for the proper functioning of the pan-European asylum system. The purpose of the directive is, on the one hand, to ensure that Member States apply uniform criteria for determining persons in need of international protection, and, on the other hand, that such persons have access to a minimum level of benefits in all Member States. . The Commission considers that Greece, as well as Portugal and Finland, have transposed or incorrectly implemented some of the provisions of the Directive and now have two months to respond to the Commission’s arguments. The Commission, if it does not receive a satisfactory answer, may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

Finally, the Commission decided to bring infringement proceedings against Greece and 21 other Member States because they did not fully comply with the terrorist content provision on the Internet.

This provision is fundamental to preventing terrorists from misusing the Internet to spread their ideology, intimidate, radicalize and recruit citizens online. The regulation provides a legal framework to ensure that terrorist content is removed from the Internet within one hour of receiving a takedown order issued by a competent national authority, and requires companies to take specific measures when their platforms are exposed to such content.

At the same time, it establishes strict safeguards to ensure that freedom of expression and information is fully respected. The regulation entered into force on June 7, 2022. However, not all Member States have taken all the necessary measures envisaged therein. The Commission, if it does not receive a satisfactory answer, may decide to send a reasoned opinion.

Source: RES-IPE