Author
Material reception conditions may be provided in kind or in the form of financial aid.[1]
With regards to the first, according to Article 60(1) of the Asylum Code, where accommodation is provided in kind, it should take one or a combination of the following forms:
- Premises used for the purpose of accommodating applicants during the examination of an application for international protection made at the border or in transit zones;
- Accommodation centres, which can operate in properly customised public or private buildings, under the management of public or private non-profit entities or international organisations and guarantee a suitable standard of living;
- Private houses, flats and hotels, rented in the context of accommodation programmes implemented by public or private non-profit entities or international organisations.
In all cases, the provision of accommodation is under the supervision of the competent reception authority, in collaboration, where applicable, with other competent state bodies. The law provides that the specific situation of vulnerable persons, such as minors (accompanied and unaccompanied), people with disabilities, elderly people, single-parent households and pregnant women, should be taken into account in the provision of reception conditions.[2]
In practice, following the termination of the ESTIA accommodation programme in December 2022,[3] camp-based accommodation has become the only available accommodation provided under the Greek reception system. As of the end of 2023, facilities used for this purposes included mainly temporary accommodation camps, initially designed as emergency accommodation facilities, and RICs in Evros, Malakasa and Diavata, on the mainland, as well as Closed Control Access Centres (CCACs) operating –under EU funding– on the Eastern Aegean islands, where asylum seekers have continued being contained in prison-like conditions.[4] The “detention-like nature” of island facilities was also noted by the EU Ombudsperson in the context of an own-initiative inquiry regarding the use of EU funds in the CCACs.[5]
To be noted, this new camp-based model of reception, which inter alia fosters conditions of social isolation for applicants, stands in stark contrast to the model promoted by the former ESTIA accommodation programme, which positive impact had been noted by local communities as well.[6] It also challenges Greece’s ability to comply with obligations arising vis-à-vis vulnerable applicants with special reception needs,[7] despite the reported willingness of the European Commission to continue the programme’s funding in the context of supporting alternative modes of accommodation to camps.[8]
In what concerns provision of material reception conditions in the form of financial aid, under the ESTIA II-CBI programme, the beneficiaries of such aid are:[9]
- Adult asylum seekers who have submitted or fully lodged an asylum application in accordance with article 65 (1)(2) & (7) L. 4636/2019, as long as they reside in the centres and facilities provided under para. 4 article 8 L. 4375/2016, in accommodation programmes of the MoMA, in shelters and hospitality centres operated by international organisations and legal entities governed by public law, local authorities, as well as civil society actors that are registered in the Registry of Greek and foreign NGOs of the MoMA. Applicants in detention are not entitled to the cash-based support.
- Beneficiaries of international protection who upon turning 18 reside in accommodation centres for UAM or in temporary accommodation spaces for UAM, for a period of three months following their placement to the aforementioned accommodation spaces.
In both cases, the new residency requirement as a pre-condition for receiving financial aid took effect on 1 July 2021, after first being announced through Press Releases issued by the MoMA in April and May 2021,[10] and subsequently introduced in ministerial decisions in July and September.[11] As per the new framework, financial aid is provided to those eligible at the end of each month, as long as it can be certified that they continue to reside in facilities operating under the MoMA (i.e., facilities of the reception system). Applicants who are not accommodated in these facilities need to first apply, then be referred to and lastly placed in such accommodation, before the procedure for accessing financial aid can (re)start.[12]
The decision to interrupt cash assistance to asylum applicants not accommodated in the reception system raised significant concerns, inter alia because it amounted to the withdrawal of material reception conditions for an estimated 25,000 asylum applicants,[13] without any personalised assessment or reasoned decision, thus potentially also amounting to a violation of article 20 of Directive 2013/33/EU (as transposed by article 57 IPA, which was afterwards replaced by article 61 Asylum Code). Furthermore, as highlighted by 30 civil society organisations in a joint statement published in June 2021,[14] the decision came at the detriment of integration. In practice, many of those affected were called to abandon a place of residence of their own choice –which they were able to sustain with the cash-based support– and to abandon their communities and friends, in order to return to camps, where they would have to be in isolation from society. The decision also failed to take into consideration the protection risks that could arise at least for some in the context of suddenly having to share accommodation in a camp. As observed,[15] applicants from some communities ended up preferring losing the financial support out of fear that residence in a camp would expose them to risks connected with their fear of persecution. It lastly also failed to take into consideration the severely limited capacity of NGOs – which were in practice called to implement the decision– to support their beneficiaries as part of the transition.
With regards to distribution, in December 2023, a total of 9,967 asylum applicants (6,267 households), half of whom were reported as residing in RICs and half in temporary accommodation Centers, received financial aid throughout Greece.[16] This amounts to less than a third of asylum applications reported as pending at first (29,885) and second (2,845) instance by the MOMA in the same month,[17] and to less than two thirds of people reported by the MOMA as residing in the Greek reception system during the same month (17,115).[18] Much like in the previous year,[19] this highlights an ongoing gap vis-à-vis applicants’ access to financial aid, which given the significant difference between the number of first and second instance applications pending at the end of 2023 (32,730), and the total number of persons accommodated in the Greek reception system (17,115) during the same period –not all of whom were necessarily in an asylum procedure– seems to be attributable to a large degree to the aforementioned residency requirement that took effect in July 2021. Other factors explaining this gap are faster asylum processing times, which have continued leading to people losing eligibility, either due to a positive or negative decision being issued before they could access this type of aid, as well as further obstacles on account of the de facto detention practices observed on the islands.
Namely, as noted in the previous update of the present report,[20] in Kos, since the cash support programme was handed over to the MoMA, nearly all applicants on the island had stopped receiving this type of material reception support and, importantly, were no longer informed by the RIS of their right to receive it. By the end of 2023, based on GCR’s presence on the island, this issue seems to have been resolved to a significant extent, following the designation of a competent RIS official for this purpose, which in GCR’s experience has resulted in most applicants requesting access to financial aid, also receiving it. However, the ongoing requirement for applicants to hold a Greek phone number in order to be able to request cash support, –which presupposes that they have the ability to exit the CCAC in order to procure such a number– in conjunction with the ongoing de facto detention regime applied to newcomers for up to 25 days, and at times for more than a month until they can receive their applicant card and be allowed to exit the CCAC, continued leading to delays with respect to applicants’ access to this form of material reception.
Of the 9,967 applicants who received financial aid in December 2023, the majority were from Afghanistan (23%), followed by Syrians (21%), nationals of Somalia (10%), Sierra Leone (9%), the DRC and Eritrea (7% each), and lastly Iraq (4%) and Cameroon (3%). Another 16% of beneficiaries were from a combination of other nationalities. The majority of beneficiaries (55%) were between 18-34 years of age, followed by those between 0-13 (24%), and those between 35-64 (17%), with another 4% being between the age of 14-17 and less than 2% being 65 years of age or older. With the exception of the latter two categories, which are characterised by an equal proportion of male and female beneficiaries, in all other cases the majority of beneficiaries were men. No disaggregated data on the family situation of the applicants was published.[21]
The amount distributed to each household is proportionate to the size of each household and differs depending on whether the accommodation provided is catered or not. The financial sums in 2023 remained the same as the ones distributed since 2021, ranging from €75 for single adults in catered accommodation, up to a €420 ceiling for a family of four or more residing in self-catered accommodation.[22] In general terms, the sum provided is significantly lower than what is provided under the Minimum Guaranteed Income, which following a slight increase in November 2023,[23] foresees €216 support for a single-member household that is increased by €108 for each additional adult member of the household and by €54 for each minor member, up to a €972 ceiling.
In addition to the fact that financial aid preserves refugees’ dignity and facilitates the process of regaining an autonomous life, by allowing them to choose what they need most, the programme has also had a significant and positive impact on local communities, as this assistance is eventually injected into the local economy, family shops and service providers. In proportion to programme’s beneficiaries, UNHCR estimated that approximately €7.4 million in cash assistance was expected to be injected into local economies in December 2020.[24] No relevant data has been reported since the MoMA started issuing reports on the implementation of the financial aid programme.
[1] Article 59(1) Asylum Code.
[2] Article 62(1) Asylum Code in connection with article 1λγ΄ Asylum Code regarding the definition of ‘vulnerable persons’ in a non-exhaustive manner.
[3] For more, AIDA, Country Report Greece: 2022 Update, June 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4cc0a07, p. 147ff.
[4] Greek Council for Refugees / OXFAM / Save the Children International, Greece: A two-tier refugee system, Bi-monthly bulletin, May 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3OJOetv.
[5] EU Ombudsperson, Decision in strategic inquiry OI/3/2022/MHZ on how the European Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece, 11 July 2022, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yckyjef3.
[6] For instance, as noted in January 2023 by the President of the Developmental Agency (Anaptyxiaki) of Irakleio, Crete, and Mayor of Archanes Asterousia, Crete, ‘[t]he framework, the rules and the whole organisation of the hospitality [under ESTIA] was exemplary and gave no room to the xenophobia that was initially expressed’. Ekriti, Crete: An end to the hospitality program for refugees, 2 January 2023, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3IEwj4h.
[7] For the closure of ESTIA, see among others: RSA, A Step backwards for protection and integration: On the termination of the ESTIA II housing programme for asylum applicants, 22 December 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/43vr3Y5; GCR, Press Release, Εξώσεις, αστεγία και πισωγύρισμα στην ένταξη, 30 November 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3oBev2B; FENIX, Closure of ESTIA II: thousands of extremely vulnerable asylum seekers to be left without humane and adequate accommodation and proper care, 31 October 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/43nPgzO.
[8] Fenix, Closure of ESTIA II: a political choice behind its closure, December 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/3VbYagQ.
[9] Article 1(d) Ministerial Decision 115202/2021, op.cit.
[10] MoMA, The financial assistance to international protection applicants that are not accommodated in facilities under the responsibility of the MoMA or MoMA partners is abolished from 1/7/21, 15 April 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3IEvEgx and Pre-requisites for the disbursement of financial assistance to international protection applicants, 25 May 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3IDe5xx.
[11] Ministerial Decision 115202/2021 op.cit and JMD 2857/2021 Amending JMD 2089/16-07-2021 on a ‘Common Framework for Managing Programmes that are assigned to the Special Secretariat for the Coordination and Management of Programmes under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund and other resources and are nor financed through National Programmes’ (Β’ 3120), Gov. Gazette 4496/29-09-2021.
[12] Annex III, JMD 2089/16.7.2021 as amended by JMD 2857/29.9.2021.
[13] Estimates provided by UNHCR in the protection working group of 7 June 2021.
[14] Joint Statement, A big setback in integration: The cut in aid to asylum seekers, 24 June 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3qMKIBV.
[15] As per information shared in the national protection working group of 7 June 2021.
[16] MoMA, Factsheet December 2023: Programme ‘Financial assistance to applicants of international protection’, December 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/ysjv4c33.
[17] MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports – Overview: December 2023 – International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc2stzh7, table 11a.
[18] Ibid., table 6.
[19] AIDA, Country Report Greece: 2022 Update, op.cit., p. 149
[20] AIDA, Country Report Greece: 2022 Update, op.cit., p. 150.
[21] MoMA, Factsheet December 2023, op.cit.
[22] Article 3 Ministerial Decision 115202/2021 on the ‘Terms of material reception conditions in the form of financial assistance to applicants for international protection’, Gov. Gazette 3322/B/26-7-2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/4dbV70A. See also: Ministerial Decision 2857/29.9.2021 regulating the cash assistance program.
[23] Article 2 (7) JMD 53923/23-7-2021, Gov. Gazette 3359/28-7-2021 as amended by JMD 97046/6.11.2023, Gov. Gazette 6456/13-11-2023, available at: https://bit.ly/4b6IFgO.
[24] UNHCR, Factsheet: Greece, 1-31 December 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/2QVbl8I, p. 3.