accepted responsibility for the case. This refusal is considered as evidence that the person does not wish to be included in the programme. Although the eligibility criteria might differ based on the Member State, some criteria seemed to be unnegotiable. An applicant could not be included to the programme in cases where a family reunification request under the Dublin III Regulation is pending, or a decision on first instance regarding the application for international protection has already been issued by the Greek authorities. Furthermore, applicants who have been accused or convicted of committing a crime, regardless of its severity, would be considered ineligible for relocation. Criteria based on ethnicity, nationality, sex and age were not set. During 2024, 1,304 individuals were relocated to other EU Member States under the voluntary relocation scheme.498 During 2023, 635 individuals were relocated to other EU Member States under the voluntary relocation scheme as well as 55 unaccompanied minors during the first 3 months of 2023. 499 The scheme for unaccompanied minors ended in March 2023, following the last departure of 15 children to Portugal. According to the MoMA, from the scheme’s operationalisation up to its end, a total of 1,368 unaccompanied children were safely transferred to other countries. In June 2022, 21 European countries also agreed to establish a Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM), supported with EU funds, in order to address challenges facing the Mediterranean Member States (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Spain) through relocation to other European Union Member States and associated countries, or through financial contributions.500 2.2. Procedure Indicators: Dublin: Procedure 1. Is the Dublin procedure applied by the authority responsible for examining asylum applications? Yes No 2. On average, how long does a transfer take after the responsible Member State has accepted responsibility? Not available There are no specific legal provisions in the Asylum Code regulating the Dublin procedure. Examination for the responsibility of another member state is a part of the regular procedure. Applications are rejected as inadmissible if another member state is found responsible for the examination of an asylum claim (art 89 1(b) of the Asylum Code) The Dublin procedure is handled by the Dublin Unit of the Asylum Service in Athens. Regional Asylum Offices are competent for registering applications and thus potential Dublin cases, as well as for notifying applicants of decisions after the determination by responsible Member State has been carried out. Regional Asylum Offices are also competent for receiving pending cases’ documents and uploading them to an online system of the Asylum Service, to which the Dublin Unit has access. EUAA also assists the authorities in the Dublin procedure. According to the 2022-2024 Operational Plan with the Agency, amended in April 2022 to consider the changes in the operational context in light of the invasion of Ukraine,501 EUAA provides support in processing outgoing requests and information requests, support in processing incoming requests only after agreement on SOPs, training, tools and reporting, support in enhancing processing capacity for transfers, provision of interpretation services for information provision and other activities of the Dublin Unit (face face-to- face and remote). Most administrative procedures, such as the submission of documentation, booking of appointments, receiving copies of an applicant’s file, are conducted only online. Physical presence in the context of Dublin procedures is only required at the registration stage, during which the asylum applicant is being fingerprinted, and must sign the relevant written consent. 498 499 500 501 MoMA monthly Reports for 2024, available at: https://migration.gov.gr/en/statistika/; see also: December 2024 Appendix A Table 16. Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Statistics, available at: https://bit.ly/3OuNZm9. French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, First step in the gradual implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum: modus operandi of a voluntary solidarity mechanism, 22 June 2022, available at: https://tinyurl.com/mcm778wy. EUAA, Operational Plan 2022-2024 agreed by the European Union Agency for Asylum and Greece, 1 April 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/420NLHL. 97