Introduction* The Greek government has made reception of asylum seekers in camps isolated from local communities a centrepiece of its policy choices over the past years. This policy already took form in 2021, when the Ministry of Migration and Asylum announced “state-of-the-art closed controlled centres that will operate on the islands and the mainland”1 and declared that material reception conditions will only be provided to those residing in centres it manages.2 It was crystallised in 2022 with the rebranding of all mainland camps into “Controlled Reception Centres for asylum seekers”3 and the complete closure of the ESTIA programme, a tested, successful approach to dignified reception of asylum seekers which in the last seven years had offered decentralised accommodation in apartments and support services to thousands of people, many of them vulnerable.4 Camps are currently the only form of reception offered to asylum seekers in Greece. The Greek government noted in its plan to upgrade “controlled” camps throughout the country that “Emphasis, beyond security, shall be placed on the quality of services offered to third-country nationals based on international standards”. 5 By the end of June 2024, the same government will be reporting on the quality of camp services and measures to address gaps therein to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, responsible for supervising the execution of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments. 6 We recall that Greece continues to receive condemnations from the ECtHR for inhuman and degrading living conditions of refugees, 7 thirteen years after the seminal ruling in M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece.8 The European Commission also monitors the country’s compliance with its EU and domestic legislation on asylum in the context of infringement proceedings initiated in 2009 and pending to date. 9 * 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Names have been changed to protect privacy and safety. Greek Government, Ενοποιημένο Σχέδιο Κυβερνητικής Πολιτικής 2021, 20 December 2020, 55, available here. Ministry of Migration and Asylum, ‘Καταργείται από 1/7/21 το οικονομικό βοήθημα σε αιτούντες διεθνή προστασία που δε στεγάζονται σε δομές ευθύνης του Υπουργείου Μετανάστευσης και Ασύλου ή συνεργαζόμενους με το ΥΜΑ φορείς’, 15 April 2021, available here. The Ministry ended the operation of smaller facilities at that time: RSA, ‘Another dignified reception facility shut down’, 24 April 2021, available here. Articles 13 and 14 PD 77/2022, Gov. Gazette Α΄ 212/17.1.2022. RSA, ‘On the termination of the ESTIA II housing programme for asylum applicants’, 22 December 2022, available here. See also RSA & PRO ASYL, Structural failure: Why Greece’s reception system failed to provide sustainable solutions, June 2019, available here. Greek Government, Ενοποιημένο Σχέδιο Κυβερνητικής Πολιτικής 2023, 21 December 2022, 170, available here. Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, M.S.S. group (Application No. 30696/09) and Rahimi (Application No. 8687/08) v. Greece, CM/Del/Dec(2023)1475/H46-15, 21 September 2023, para 5. For instance, A.D. v. Greece App No 55363/19, 4 April 2023; E.F. v. Greece App No 16127/20, 5 October 2023; M.B. v. Greece App No 8389/20, 23 November 2023; M.L. v. Greece App No 8386/20, 23 November 2023; D.S. v. Greece App No 2080/19, 30 November 2023; O.R. v. Greece App No 24650/19, 23 January 2024. App No 30696/09, 21 January 2011. INFR(2009)4104. According to the European Commission database, letters of formal notice have been sent to Greece on 29 September 2009, 24 June 2010 and 23 September 2015 inter alia on reception RSA REPORT │ REFUGEE CAMPS IN MAINLAND GREECE | JUN 2024 2