In its report on Greece, the European Commission again referred to the Bekir-Ousta group of cases concerning the violation of the freedom of association and recommended simplifying the registration of civil society organisations.
The European Commission published its 2025 Rule of Law Report on 8 July. The Rule of Law Report, which examines developments related to the rule of law in each of the 27 EU Member States and EU accession countries, referred to the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases in the context of the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, as it did last year.
In the country report on Greece, which focuses on the state of the legislature and judiciary in Greece, reforms in these areas, steps taken to combat corruption, and the safety of the media and journalists, the European Commission made a series of recommendations to Greece.
With regard to the justice system, the European Commission noted that the length of proceedings in national courts in Greece remains very long, but that the first results following the recent reforms are encouraging, although it is still too early to assess the results.
In the area of media freedom and pluralism, the European Commission indicated that concerns persist with respect to the legislative framework and political independence of the public service media, in other words, that problems regarding the independence of state-owned media outlets persist. While noting several positive developments regarding the safety of journalists, the European Commission al-so added that challenges remain on the ground.
With regard to the legislature, the European Commission stated that cooperation between the legislature and civil society organisations has not yet been established on a regular and continuous basis. In this regard, the European Commission’s report this year recommended simplifying the registration re-quirements of the civil society organisations in order to provide a clear framework for their activities.
The European Commission, referring to the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases in its report this year regarding the violation of the freedom of association of the Turkish community in Western Thrace, notes that the judgments concerning the associations that have not been registered due to national court rulings have been pending execution for the past 16 years.
As it does every year, the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF) participated in the public consultation process regarding the European Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report, reporting on the issues faced by the Turkish community in Western Thrace in the fields of education and religion, as well as hate speech directed at the Turkish community in Western Thrace. Regarding the freedom of association, ABTTF also informed the European Commission about the decision to dissolve the Western Thrace Fenerbahçe Culture and Sports Association, in addition to the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases.
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