Symbiosis denounces the amendment to the Local Government Code and calls on civil society to take action.
17/6/2026
The proposed amendments to the Local Government Code by the Ministry of Interior represent a direct and unjustified attack on the democratic participation of migrant and refugee communities in Greece. If adopted, these changes will effectively exclude migrant communities from the Municipal Migrant and Refugee Integration Councils (MIRCs)—the only institutional mechanism through which they can collectively participate in public life.
The Councils of Athens, Piraeus, and Thessaloniki have already called on the Ministry to withdraw these harmful provisions and to uphold the original intent of Article 154: to strengthen, not weaken, the representation of migrant communities.
A Deliberate Restriction Disguised as Technical Change
At the heart of the problem lies a seemingly minor but deeply consequential revision. The new draft limits participation in the councils to organizations registered in the official Register of Greek and Foreign NGOs of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum.
This is not a neutral administrative clarification. It is a deliberate restriction that excludes the vast majority of migrant communities, which are not NGOs but associations, unions, and informal collectives. Many of these communities have operated for decades, representing thousands of people and playing a crucial role in social cohesion.
The exclusion is further compounded by the restrictive and widely criticized criteria governing the NGO register, which already acts as a barrier to participation rather than a guarantee of transparency.
Silencing Established Communities
The consequences are immediate and severe. Organized communities—from Albania, Sudan, Senegal, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, and many others—will be barred from participating in the very bodies designed to represent them.
This is not merely an administrative oversight; it is the silencing of communities with a long history of engagement, organization, and contribution to Greek society. It strips them of their voice in local governance and denies municipalities the opportunity to engage meaningfully with the people they serve.
Undermining a Critical Democratic Institution
MIRCs are not symbolic bodies. They are the only formal channel through which migrant and refugee communities can engage with local authorities, articulate their needs, and contribute to policy discussions.
Weakening their inclusiveness directly undermines democratic participation, social dialogue, and integration efforts at the local level.
By imposing an additional and unnecessary registration requirement, the proposed changes distort the very purpose of the councils. Instead of fostering inclusion, they institutionalize exclusion.
Ignoring the Nature and Rights of Migrant Communities
Migrant communities are not service providers and cannot be forced into the legal framework of NGOs without negating their core identity. They are collective expressions of social and civic participation, formed under existing legal frameworks and already subject to oversight.
Their right to organize and participate in public life is rooted in fundamental constitutional protections. Conditioning their participation on inclusion in an administrative register is both disproportionate and unjustifiable.
Call to Action
We urge immediate action to prevent this rollback of democratic participation.
We call on:
- The Ministry of Interior to withdraw the restrictive provisions and restore the inclusive wording of Article 154
- Members of Parliament to reject any changes that exclude migrant communities from MIRCs
- Local authorities to publicly defend the role of MIRCs as spaces of genuine representation
- Civil society organisations, migrant communities, and allies to speak out, issue statements, and mobilise against these exclusions
We also call on all concerned individuals and organisations to:
- Raise awareness by sharing this issue publicly
- Engage with policymakers and demand accountability
- Stand in solidarity with migrant and refugee communities defending their right to participate
The future of inclusive local governance in Greece is at stake.
Migrant communities must not be excluded from the spaces designed to represent them.
Now is the time to act—decisively and collectively—to defend democratic participation, equality, and social cohesion.
Foto di Joseph Lockley su Unsplash
