The Greek Trick: ‘Nudging Forward’ as a Novel Strategy for Governing Migration at EU’s Periphery

In the last few years, more than 75,000 beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs) have used the refugee passports issued to them by the Greek authorities to travel to Germany and the Netherlands, where they re-apply for asylum. In line with EU law (Council Directive 2008/118115/EC), these BIPs must return to Greece, where they have already obtained protection status. However, domestic court decisions in Germany and the Netherlands have led to the de facto suspension of returns of BIPs to Greece due to a serious risk of facing inhuman and degrading treatment there. This paper argues that the above developments are a direct consequence of ‘nudging forward’ – a novel strategy that the Greek government has been implementing since 2019. Using process-tracing and data from various sources (expert interviews, replies to parliamentary questions, governmental documents, case-law, reports from non-governmental organizations), the paper shows how this strategy has been enacted through policies and administrative practices that facilitate BIPs’ onward mobility to other Member States and simultaneously obstruct their settlement in Greece. The findings contribute to theoretical discussions on ‘secondary movements’ in the EU and the limits of the Common European Asylum System, as well as to practical debates on the implementation of the recently adopted New Pact on Migration and Asylum.