Contents Main findings...................................................................................................... 4 Background to this report ................................................................................ 10 1. Migration trends at the southern EU borders ............................................ 11 2. Migration management in Greece ............................................................. 14 3. The humanitarian crisis in Evros ................................................................ 18 Access to the territory ..................................................................................... 19 Processing of irregular migrants ..................................................................... 21 Detention conditions ....................................................................................... 25 Identification of persons with specific needs.................................................. 31 Dealing with the deaths .................................................................................. 33 4. The mid‐term: putting the Action Plan into practice ................................. 35 European solidarity.......................................................................................... 36 Solutions for non‐refugees .............................................................................. 41 Table of figures and tables Figure 1: Number of detections between border crossing points, by major migration route, since 2008 Figure 2: Flow of new arrivals according to the 2011 law Figure 3: Key actors Figure 4: Processing persons apprehended crossing the border irregularly Figure 5: Number of apprehensions in Greece, by nationality, in 2010 Figure 6: Evros municipalities with detention facilities for irregular migrants Figure 7: Timelines for disbursing 2009 ERF funds to NGO Praksis Table 1: Overview of detention facilities in Evros region Table 2 External Borders Fund 2007‐ 2008 (incl. 25 % Greek contributions) Table 3: Overview of ERF funding for Greece 12 15 17 21 23 25 38 26 37 37