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Short overview of the reception system
In May 2018, L 4540/2018 transposed the recast Reception Conditions Directive into national law, almost three years after the transposition deadline. In 2019, L. 4540/2018 was replaced by the IPA (L. 4636/2019), which entered into force on 1 January 2020 and was amended with a series of laws (inter alia L. 4686/2020 and L. 4825/2021). The IPA constituted a uniform legislation for the provisions of reception, asylum procedure and recognition of international protection incorporating the relevant EU (recast) Directives (Directive 2013/33/EU, Directive 2013/32/EU and Directive 2011/95/EU).
On 10 June 2022, the IPA (Articles 1-112 and 114) was also replaced by L 4939/2022 (Asylum Code), which constitutes a codification of legislation on reception, international protection of third country nationals and stateless persons, as well as on temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons, which was incorporated as per the provisions of P.D. 80/2006 (A΄ 82), following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382. Lastly, after the replacement of L. 4554/2018 on guardianship – which was never implemented – by L. 4960/2022 on the National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs),[1] which entered into force on 22 July 2022, the relevant provisions of L. 4960/2022 were also incorporated in the Asylum Code.
Under the Asylum Code, the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) within the Secretariat General of Reception of Asylum Seekers under the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (MoMA) is defined as the authority responsible for reception.[2] The Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUM), which was established under the MoMA in February 2020,[3] competent for the protection of UAM, including for their accommodation, and also for the guardianship of UAMs, was abolished in June 2023. Its responsibilities (under article 39 of P.D. 106/2020) were transferred to the new General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection (GSVP) established with article 6(1) of P.D. 77/2023 (A’ 130/ 27.6.2023), falling under the competency of the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum[4]. The new General Secretariat is also competent for the National Referral Mechanism, according to article 66ΛΓ Asylum Code added with article 39 of L. 4960/2022.
With regard to the composition of the reception system, a substantial change occurred in 2022, when the ESTIA accommodation scheme was terminated. ESTIA provided rented housing to vulnerable asylum applicants in the context of reception. The scheme, which since January 2021 had been operating under the sole responsibility of the MoMA,[5] was terminated at the end of 2022, amidst increased concerns for former residents, such as families that had already started the integration process and children who were enrolled to school, who upon exiting ESTIA, were frequently left to their fate or on the streets or forced to interrupt their education (school).[6] The programme’s termination, which had been announced by the MoMA in February 2022,[7] also signified the transformation of Greece’s reception system into one exclusively modelled on camp-based accommodation, with very few exceptions concerning in particular UAM (e.g., shelters and SILs).
In 2023, island CCACs and mainland camps, remained the dominant forms of reception. From 1 January to 30 September 2022, there were 18,046 referrals for reception to the RIS. Of these, 8,502 (47%) were made by the Asylum Service, 6,900 (38%) by the Police, 1,591 (9%) by Social Support or Protection Services (SSPUM / NCSS) and 1,053 (6%) by health services[8]. Relevant data for 2023 are not available up the time of writing.
During 2023, the RIS registered a total of 55,875 persons, the vast majority of whom (41,790) were registered in the border RICs of Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros, Kos and Fylakio, Evros, and the rest (14,085) in the mainland RICs of Malakasa and Diavata. Of the total of those registered, the vast majority were boys and men (40,425), of whom 7,445 were aged between 0-17; 15,784 between 18-25; 9,545 between 26-33; 4,354 between 41-60; and 198 were 61 years or older. Women and girls accounted for close to 28% (15,450), of whom 5,053 were under the age of 18; 4,197 were between 18-25; 3,123 between 26-33; 1,534 between 34-40; 1,355 between 41-60; and 188 were 61 years or older.[9]
Close to 15% (8,104) of all those registered were registered as vulnerable, of whom the majority were single parent households (2,569), followed by UAM (2,364), victims of violence/abuse (2,115), pregnant or lactating women (519), persons with disabilities (246), elderly persons (177), and victims of trafficking (114).[10]
Most of those registered at the borders (total of 41,790) were from Syria (29.47%), Afghanistan (18.71%), Palestine (15.77%), Somalia (6.82%) and Türkiye (5.08%), followed by persons from more than 50 nationalities, including stateless persons (0.55%).[11] Of those registered in the mainland RICs, the majority were from Iraq (33.68%), followed by nationals of Syria (16.61%), Afghanistan (9.93%), Pakistan (7.01%), and Egypt (6.56%), with the remainder being likewise from a combination of more than 50 nationalities, including stateless persons (0.04%).[12]
[1] L 4960/2022 National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of UAMs and other provisions under the jurisdiction of the MoMA.
[2] Article 1(ιστ΄) Asylum Code.
[3] Article 1(3) P.D.18/2020, Gov. Gazette 34/Α/19-2-2020.
[4] MoMA, Webpage of the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2sspd4xx.
[5] See, e.g., MoMA, Press Release on ESTIA 2021, February 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3uwgpjX.
[6] EfSyn, Ανέστιοι πρόσφυγες χωρίς το ESTIA, 24 December 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3YYaWjw; News24/7, The government threw mothers with underage children on the streets, 10 December 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3lFktO2 and GCR, Evictions, Homelessness and setbacks to integration, 30 November 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3S9uwHz.
[7] MoMA, ESTIA II to be completed in 2022, 22 February 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3iGewf1.
[8] MoMA / General Secretariat for the Reception of Asylum Seekers / Reception and Identification Service / R.I.Cs and C.C.A.Cs Directorate, Statistics – Referrals 2022, see: https://bit.ly/3OuNZm9.
[9] MoMA / General Secretariat for the Reception of Asylum Seekers / Reception and Identification Service / R.I.Cs and C.C.A.Cs Directorate, Registrations 12 months 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/ytfkhkfu, pp. 1 and 14; and Registrations 12 months mainland 2023,available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/48jc9u7x, pp. 1 and 8.
[10] Ibid, p.7 and p. 5 respectively.
[11] MoMA / General Secretariat for the Reception of Asylum Seekers / Reception and Identification Service / R.I.Cs and C.C.A.Cs Directorate, Registrations 12 months 2023, available (Greek) at: https://tinyurl.com/ytfkhkfu, pp. 17-19.
[12] MoMA / General Secretariat for the Reception of Asylum Seekers / Reception and Identification Service / R.I.Cs and C.C.A.Cs Directorate, Registrations 12 months mainland 2023,available (Greek) at: https://tinyurl.com/48jc9u7x, pp. 11-12.