Coping with a fundamental rights emergency – The situation of people crossing the Greek border in an irregular manner  No system to tap into local resources: For example, no support has been sought or provided by the University of Thrace, which has a Medical School in Alexandroupoli and a Law School in Komotini, both at reasonable distance from the detention centres. In addition, municipalities with capacity to host vulnerable groups or provide social service support remain uninformed and do not engage.  Inertia among local actors: There is nobody at local level who takes on a role of coordinating a response. This results in different local actors, including the police, local authorities and other local public institutions, such as the university or the hospital, working in parallel or not being aware that they could contribute. Key local actors, such as some mayors interviewed by the FRA were not even aware of the existence of the 2011 law, which nevertheless assigns them responsibilities. The result is an overburdened police.  Unused infrastructure in other parts of Greece: In other parts of Greece, for example on the Aegean islands, there are detention facilities that are no longer fully used. To alleviate the overcrowding in Evros, migrants for whom there is prospect for removal could be transported by sea/air, as Alexandroupoli and the islands have ports and airports. Similarly, the possibility to refer persons to facilities for persons requiring specific support (such as HIV counselling) are also not fully exploited.  The dire financial situation of Greece also impacts on the management of asylum and migration. The available national budget is small. Procedures to disburse funds are complex. The staff available is limited and so is the capacity to absorb European Union funding. The involvement of the EU On 24 October 2010, FRONTEX received a request from the Greek Minister of Citizen Protection to deploy for the first time Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABITs) – groups of specialised border guards by 27 EU countries to deal with emergency situations at the EU’s external borders – as well as operational means to increase the control and surveillance levels at Greece’s border with Turkey. Five days after receiving the request, on 2 November 2010, FRONTEX finalised arrangements for the deployment of 175 border‐control specialists from 26 EU Member States and technical resources at the Greek‐Turkish land border. All costs incurred in relation to the deployment are reimbursed by FRONTEX. On 3 December 2010, the Agency’s deployment of RABITs was extended until 3 March 2011. FRONTEX will continue to be active in the region afterwards in the context of the Joint Operation Poseidon Land to ensure that Greece has the appropriate operational support to ensure effective border management in the region. The deployment of substantial resources by FRONTEX at the border with Turkey as part of its RABIT operation has had an overall positive impact on the initial processing of individuals. In particular, procedures in place seem to have reduced the risk of informal push‐backs to Turkey for persons who have crossed irregularly into Greece. 8