GREECE: Collision between Coast Guard vessel and migrant boat leaves at least 15 dead ― Controversial migration law adopted despite widespread opposition ―  NGO report highlights rule of law failings 

• A collision between a Greek Coast Guard vessel and a speedboat carrying people on the move has resulted in at least 15 deaths and multiple injuries.
• A controversial migration law has been passed by Parliament.
• A new NGO report has once again raised concerns about the state of rule of law in Greece.

A collision between a Greek Coast Guard vessel and a speedboat carrying people on the move has resulted in at least 15 deaths and multiple injuries. The incident took place on 4 February off the island of Chios. According to the Greek Coast Guard, a pursuit was underway at the time of the collision which caused the speedboat to capsize and sink, throwing all of its passengers into the sea. It is unclear exactly how many people were on board the boat at the time of the incident (the Greek Coast Guard has estimated at least 39) but a total of 25 people were rescued and 14 bodies have been recovered from the sea. One of the survivors later died in hospital while at least three others were in critical condition.

In a statement issued on 5 February, the Greek Coast Guard said that the collision occurred when the pilot of the speedboat, which had reportedly ignored its orders to stop, “turned around, and the boat then collided with thew starboard side of the Coast Guard patrol boat”. This version of events was reiterated by Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vasilis Kikilias when he appeared before Parliament on 6 February. Responding to questions about why the thermal camera on the Coast Guard vessel had not been switched on during the incident, Kikilias said that, even if had been activated, it “would not have provided any meaningful clarification”. The Coast Guard’s account has, however, been disputed by three survivors whose testimonies were reviewed by the Reuters news agency. According to one of them, the Coast Guard did not offer any prior warning and the speedboat did not change course. “If they had chased us we would have stopped. We were on an inflatable boat with children,” they said, adding: “We were going straight. It didn’t turn left or right”.

Greek authorities have opened an investigation into the incident. Commenting on this development, the opposition Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA) insisted that the investigation had to be thorough and “must soon provide precise and clear answers about the events of that dramatic night, so that responsibilities can be assigned”. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) said that the truth had to be revealed “institutionally, without ideological bias or anti-immigration rhetoric”. The two political parties’ demands were echoed by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) which underscored “the importance of clarity and transparency when incidents occur during lifesaving operations at sea”. However, it is clear that a significant degree of scepticism surrounds the official investigation. In an opinion piece published by the EUobserver online newspaper on 5 February, the humanitarian affairs professional and independent journalist Tatiana Svorou wrote: “What makes Chios particularly disturbing, though, apart from the death toll, is the institutional familiarity of the response, including a fatal encounter at sea under the international frame, and initial emphasis on “collision” instead of conduct”.

A controversial migration law has been passed by Parliament. The ‘Promotion of Legal Migration Policies’ law, which will “speed up permits, create temporary reception facilities in Crete and tighten rules on returns, trafficking and NGO oversight” was introduced to Parliament on 4 February. Presenting the draft law, Minister of Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris rejected opposition parties’ objections to several measures, including the removal of the opportunity for people who entered Greece to ever regularise their status or for unaccompanied minors who have attended school to receive residence permits when they turn 18, saying: “Whoever is illegal right now will remain illegal, and when they are located they will be arrested, imprisoned for two to five years and repatriated”. According to the Kathimerini newspaper, the draft law was passed “with the votes of the ruling new Democracy party, while all opposition parties voted against it”. Prior to its adoption, the draft law had been severely criticised by a large group of NGOs who were concerned about its potential impact on their continued ability to operate without being unfairly criminalised, while the Greek Ombudsman had also expressed serious concerns about it, arguing that “punishing people for entering the country illegally contravenes international conventions on the treatment of refugees” and denouncing the proposed penalties against NGOs as “disproportionately harsh”.

A new NGO report has once again raised concerns about the state of rule of law in Greece. The report, which was published by a group of NGOs that includes ECRE member organisations the Greek Council for Refugees, HIAS Greece and Refugee Support Aegean, is intended to “track the systematic failings of Greek institutions” and calls for urgent action to address the “longstanding rule of law concerns in Greece”. In a section on the independence and effectiveness of the prosecution service, it notes that, despite the European Court of Human Rights ruling in January 2025 that Greece undertook a “systematic practice” of pushbacks, “no push back case has proceeded beyond the criminal preliminary examination stage to date”, while public prosecutors have continued to “shelve investigations against allegations of push backs for want of ‘sufficient indications’” and criminal complaints submitted by NGOs have been “routinely archived as unfounded”. Speaking at a press conference to mark the launch of the report, Minos Mouzourakis from RSA said: “The demand for an independent and genuine investigation and for accountability is urgent and collective, from Pylos to Tempi, from the waters off Chios to the servers of the surveillance scandal. Until this country becomes a state governed by the rule of law and a just state for each and every one of us”.

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