or the Armed Forces.585 With regard to the possibility of personnel of the Hellenic Police or Armed Forces to conduct personal interviews, Amnesty International has underlined that the application of such provision “would be a serious backward step that will compromise the impartiality of the asylum procedure”.586 As of 2024, the Hellenic Police or Armed Forces have not carried out personal asylum interviews, however, they did undertake the full registration of asylum applications in certain circumstances. EUAA (former EASO)’s competence to conduct interviews was introduced by a legal amendment in June 2016, following an initial implementation period of the EU-Türkiye Statement, during which the exact role of the Agency’s staff and the legal remit of their involvement in the asylum procedure was uncertain. The EASO Special Operating Plans to Greece foresaw a role for EASO in conducting interviews (face-to-face and remote) in different asylum procedures, drafting opinions and recommending decisions to the Asylum Service throughout 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. 587 A similar role is foreseen in the Operational & Technical Assistance Plan to Greece 2022-2024, including in the Regular procedure,588 as well as in updated plan for 2025.589 In practice, in cases where the interview is conducted by an EUAA Greek-speaking caseworker, the latter provides an opinion / recommendation (πρόταση / εισήγηση) on the case to the Asylum Service, which remains the competent authority for the issuance of the decision. The transcript of the interview and the opinion / recommendation are written in Greek. The issuance of an opinion / recommendation by EUAA personnel to the Asylum Service is not foreseen by any provision in national law and thus lacks a legal basis.590 Finally, a caseworker of the Asylum Service, without having had any direct contact with the applicant, e.g., to ask further questions, issues the decision based on the interview transcript and the opinion / recommendation provided by EUAA, without being bound by it. 591 During 2024, legal aid organisations operating in Lesvos observed a long-standing problem with asylum interview transcripts, which were often poorly written. This resulted in an inadequate, inaccurate or sometimes incomprehensible reflection of asylum applicants' claims. 592 Based on the observations of legal aid organisations, including GCR, in a number of cases, decisions were issued by RAOs and/or AAUs other than those where the interviews were conducted, operating supportively to the latter. In Lesvos, interviews are primarily conducted by employees of the RAO Lesvos. On rare occasions, interviews are conducted remotely, as in a recent case involving a young Egyptian asylum seeker. In this instance, the interview was conducted remotely by a handler from the RAO of Rhodes. However, the issuance and notification of the decision remain pending. In Samos, 90% of admissibility interviews are conducted remotely by caseworkers from Lesvos. Some interviews take place via phone calls. In Chios, admissibility interviews are conducted remotely by caseworkers from Lesvos through the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA). Some interviews are conducted by caseworkers of the local Asylum Office, while certain cases are referred to the Regional Asylum Office of Nikaia for the issuance of decisions.593 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 Article 95(3)(b) Asylum Code. Amnesty International, Submission on the proposed changes to the Greek Law on international protection, 24 October 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/3oxyL5k. See, e.g., EASO, 2020 Operational & Technical Assistance Plan to Greece, 20 December 2019, available at: https://bit.ly/3Qhm0X3 p. 14. EASO, Operating Plan to Greece 2022-2024, 9 December 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3uMYh9q, pp. 2021. EUAA, Operational plan 2025 agreed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and Greece, https://tinyurl.com/2suajtdc p 9 Articles 60(4)(b) L 4375/2016 and 90(3)(b) only refer to the conduct of interviews by EASO staff. AIRE Centre, et al., Third party intervention in J.B. v. Greece, 4 October 2017, available at: http://bit.ly/2qSRxoU, pp. 10-11. Information acquired during Lesvos Legal Aid Working Group meeting, 3 September 2024. Minutes of Legal Aid Sub Working Group Meeting, 26 March 2024. 130