4.3. In 2016 a double challenge for asylum in Greece: temporary accommodation facilities on the mainland and hotspots after 20.3.2016 After the surge of the refugeemigrant flows of the previous year,103 in 2016 the Greek Administration came across two big challenges: on the one hand the closing of the borders on the so-called “Western Balkans Route”, which resulted in the trapping of mixed, refugee and migrant, populations on the Greek mainland, and on the other hand the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March, further to which the services in the hotspots on the five islands had to bear the burden of the detention of all new irregular arrivals at the sea borders, with the purpose of their rapid readmission into Turkey after their identification. The numbers are indicative of the administrative problems: in mid-November 2016 there were approximately 26,000 persons in temporary accommodation facilities on the mainland, and approximately 16,000 people who crossed the sea borders, at the hotspots at nearly double their capacity overall. In addition, there are around 5700 living in apartments under the housing rental program of the UNHCR and another 5000 in other facilities funded by UNHCR (hotels, guest houses, etc.). According to the official data of the Central Coordinating Body for the Management of Migration 9,000 people are estimated to be outside accommodation facilities, i.e. they cannot be found anywhere. As regards the last category, there is the possibility that they have left without following legal border crossing methods. Delay in access to asylum in the temporary accommodation facilities The main problem that emerged from reports to the Ombudsman was the inability of people living in temporary accommodation facilities of mainland Greece to access the asylum process for months (cases No. 214896, 215349, 215823/2016 etc.). The pre-registration of the asylum applications was the first and most important step in personalising the needs of these people, and it was achieved with the substantial contribution of UNHCR and EASO in June and July 2016. The pre-registration of 25,692 people resulted in the granting of a corresponding card with a one-year duration, which constitutes a legal certificate for residence in the country, without con- 103 See Annual Report 2015, pg. 185 et seq. ferring full rights to the asylum seeker (employment), with a serious delay for those who wish to be included in family reunification procedures (case No. 8556/2016). However, information provided by the Asylum Service with a public announcement about the schedule of the final registration until January and then in February 2017 (press release on 21.1.2017) is in any case an example of a responsible Administration. A key priority of the migration policy proved to be the rapid examination of the asylum applications of those who crossed the sea borders after 20 March and were held at the hotspots for readmission into Turkey. The asylum offices however at the hotspots had a very small number of staff, which was not sufficient to meet the volume of applications they received, whereas the reinforcement with staff by EASO was gradual, and with significantly fewer people than those requested. The delays and prioritisations of certain national groups or vulnerable persons (e.g. families) by the Asylum Offices operating inside the hotspots, caused the dissatisfaction of those waiting for months for the processing of their application or its simple submission (indicative cases No. 213698, 218420, 218700/2016), creating conflicts and riots inside the hotspots and a chain reaction for the social peace and coexistence with the residents of the islands. Asylum procedures at the sea borders after the EU-Turkey Statement For the Greek Ombudsman, it is of the utmost importance to staff the local asylum services and in particular those operating in the hotspots and to ensure their systematic operation, with a strategic prioritisation that does not however leave entire population groups exposed to months of detention due to the wait for the submission of an application, leaving impressions of exclusion from international protection in order to serve a pre-agreed migration policy. The increasing contribution of EASO on the borders The role of EASO in the conduct of interviews at the hotspots gave rise to reasonable questions, considering that Law 4375/2016 provided (Article 3) for the possibility of processing separate procedures of the Asylum Offices of the RICs by the EU agency, but with the reservation of exercising public power (case No. 215914/2016). Reports however highlight the conduct of interviews exclusively by EASO staff, a practice that is covered by an amendment of the law at the end of June (Law 4399/2016). It was reported to 33