With financial and technical support from the European Commission, Greek authorities are constructing fences and concrete walls around existing camps, building closed camps in remote locations on the Aegean islands, and introducing legislation to further restrict the freedom of movement in and access to camps. These walls are a physical manifestation of containment policies adopted by the EU and its Member States to isolate asylum seekers away from local communities. By reinforcing such policies, they seriously risk impeding the effective identification and protection of vulnerable people; limiting access to services and assistance for asylum seekers; hindering independent monitoring of conditions inside facilities; and exacerbating the harmful effects of displacement and containment on individuals’ mental health. Moreover, these policies are likely to preclude displaced people’s integration in local communities, to their detriment and that of Greece. AN EXTENSION OF THE EU’S CONTAINMENT POLICY In December 2020, the European Commission and the Greek government published a memorandum of understanding establishing plans for the construction of Multi-Purpose Reception and Identification Centres (MPRICs) to replace the infamous refugee camps on five Greek islands.4 Samos will be the first island where a new facility will become operational, with the MPRIC expected to open at the end of September 2021.5 On Lesvos and Chios, the construction of new facilities is being prepared, while on Kos and Leros, existing camps are being converted into closed facilities.6 The European Commission is funding these projects with grants exceeding €250 million. The Commission announced an award of €121 million in November 2020 for the construction of reception centres on Samos, Kos, and Leros, and an additional €155 million for new centres on Lesvos and Chios.7 Based on available information, these centres will be at remote locations without easy access to external services or host communities. The camps will be surrounded by a double, military-grade fence and residents will only be permitted to enter and exit at restricted hours.8 Residents will be under constant surveillance by Centaur, an integrated digital system that includes CCTV and video monitors, drones, perimeter violation alarms with cameras, control gates with metal detectors and X-ray devices, and an automated loudspeaker system for public announcements.9 Changes to EU reception facilities are not limited to the islands. On the Greek mainland, authorities are constructing concrete walls and chain-link fencing around several existing camps. In a number of camps on the mainland, plans are in motion to install drone patrols, magnetic gates with thermographic cameras, X-ray machines, and security cameras at the entrances and exits. According to external reports, these surveillance measures will be implemented in 39 camps around the country, with the European Internal Security Fund covering 75 percent of 4. M  emorandum of Understanding: Commission support for the situation on the Greek islands Questions and Answers (European Commission, 3 December 2020) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 5. Ξ  εκινά τον Σεπτέμβριο η λειτουργία της νέας Κλειστής Ελεγχόμενης Δομής Σάμου (Hellenic Ministry of Migration and Asylum, 29 July 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 6. M  igration: Commission and Greece agree joint plan for a new reception centre in Lesvos (European Commission, 3 December 2020) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 7. V isit of Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner, to Samos and Lesbos, Greece: press conference with Notis Mitarachi, Greek Minister for Migration and Asylum (European Commission, 29 February 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 8. N  otis Mitarakis ‘Η Μαλακάσα θα είναι η πρώτη ελεγχόμενη δομή στην ηπειρωτική Ελλάδα’ (Youtube, 1 June 2020) <link> accessed 31 January 2021; Notis Mitarakis ‘Άρθρο του Υπουργού Μετανάστευσης και Ασύλου, κ. Νότη Μηταράκη, στον “Ελεύθερο Τύπο της Κυριακής” για την συμπλήρωση ενός έτους διακυβέρνησης (Official website, 5 July 2020 ) <link> accessed 31 January 2021; Notis Mitarakis ‘Σημεία Συνέντευξης του Υπουργού Μετανάστευσης και Ασύλου, κ. Νότη Μηταράκη, στην εφημερίδα «Τα Νέα»’ (Official website, 26 September 2020) <link> accessed 31 January 2021 9. C  orina Petridi ‘Greek camps for asylum seekers to introduce partly automated surveillance systems’ (Algorithm Watch, 27 April 2021) <link> accessed 24 August 2021 2