Μake us preferred on Google Strasbourg’s attention is focused on provisions of the Migration and Asylum Ministry’s law that concern the operation of NGOs and the sweeping criminalization of humanitarian work. Within the next 24 hours, a delegation from the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s independent advisory body on constitutional law, is set to arrive in Athens to examine whether these provisions align with EU standards and are proportionate.
For this reason, Commission members are scheduled to meet with Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris, from whom they expect explanations on the matter. Under the immigration law, penalties for members of non-governmental organizations have been made stricter, with organizations and advocacy groups pointing out that, under the law, simply being an NGO member now counts as an aggravating factor.
It’s worth noting that the trigger for the Venice Commission’s review was a June 29 letter from Elvira Kovács, chair of the Committee on the Honoring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States (Monitoring Committee) of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, who requested an urgent opinion from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission.
The request concerned certain amendments introduced by Greek Law 5275/2026 of February 6, 2026, to Greek Law 4939/2022 (the Asylum Code) and to the Greek Immigration Code. The Commission will therefore examine the vetting and registration of NGOs in the Migration and Asylum Ministry’s registry, and whether that process affects their work. At the same time, the delegation is expected to focus on the criminal offenses related to migrant smuggling, where the ministry added a harsher penalty for anyone convicted of smuggling who is also an NGO member. In such cases, the sentence is heavier, and by ministerial decision the organization involved can also be struck from the registry.
It should be noted that the urgent opinion has not yet been issued. It is expected to be submitted, after the Commission delegation’s meeting with the ministry’s leadership, for approval at the Venice Commission’s plenary session next month. That session will determine whether the ministry receives a “red card” over these legislative provisions, or whether the minister’s explanations will be enough to satisfy the Commission.
Reactions
The criminalization of humanitarian work has drawn strong criticism for some time now. It is telling that in its comments on the ministry’s legislative framework, the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) noted that the European Commission, observing “an increasingly difficult environment for NGOs and individuals assisting migrants,” as well as the growing criminalization since 2015 of actions carried out for humanitarian purposes, has called on member states to exempt humanitarian assistance from criminal liability.
The NCHR also referenced the ministry’s law, which states that “mere membership in a Civil Society Organization (NGO) registered with the Migration and Asylum Ministry’s registry is sufficient to upgrade misdemeanors under Article 24 of the Immigration Code to felonies (imprisonment of up to 10 years) or to increase sentencing ranges (imprisonment of at least 10 years).”
