for the distribution of the meals. Many organisations among those that have undertaken the provision of food, also choose to contract with catering services, while others appear, particularly lately, to prefer to prepare the meals on site in collective/community kitchens.151 At least in one facility under the control of the local government, in Kara Tepe in Lesvos, as the Ombudsman discovered during an inspection the distribution of pre-packaged food takes place, “door to door” to the shelters in order to avoid queues and protect the dignity of the individuals, as stated by the people responsible. The trend for the immediate future, as the competent minister announced during an interview on 27 November 2016 given to the Athens News Agency, is to replace the catering services in all facilities with meal vouchers and community kitchens.152 The criticism received for the current system focuses mainly on the quality of the food,153 the occasional delays in the distribution of the meals, issues in recording the actual number of individuals, and occasional complaints among competitive catering services on the contract award procedure154 which are reproduced by the local Press and are sometimes adopted by local stakeholders.155 2.2. The problem and the Ombudsman’s interventions In 2015, the issue of providing food to a growing number of thirdcountry nationals arriving from the Turkish shores to the Eastern Aegean islands was addressed in a fragmented and ineffective manner. The State appeared unprepared to provide even elementary 151 See article of July 2016 about community kitchens in Oraiokastro, Herso and Doliana http://www.epiruspost.gr/reportaz/koinonia/39320-mko.html 152 http://www.amna.gr/articlep/133070/G.-Mouzalas-sto-APE-MPE:-Mauripropaganda-parempodizei-to-ergo-tis-kubernisis-sto-prosfugiko 153 - “The food is not always of good quality [...] In Elaionas, the refugees, migrants and asylum seekers hosted there have made certain complaints about the quality of the food (for example lack of red meat, provision of fruit but not vegetables). [...] In Skaramangas it was reported that the cost of the services is disproportionate to the quality of the food provided. During the visit, we observed a significant quantity of the pre-packaged food portions discarded on the ground around the distribution stalls”. The living conditions in the reception and accommodation centers for migrants and refugees, December 2016, National Commission for Human Rights, www.nchr.gr - “Ritsona: no one is eating the catering food” http://www.tovima.gr/society/ article/?aid=846363 - “The awful food was the final straw”http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/athlio-syssitioxeheilise-potiri 154 http://www.dimokratiki.gr/06-09-2016/fotografiki-diagonismi-gia-ti-sitisiprosfigon-ke-metanaston/ 155 http://www.eleftherostypos.gr/#article/29549 catering services, since it had no technical infrastructure, funds, or an adequate legal framework in place, either for using own funds or for disbursing the EU funds in time. Catering was addressed as an emergency expense which burdened the police and the pre-removal centers, where such existed, based on JMD 8038/23/22-ιγ/2015 (Government Gazette Β 118/21-1-2015) for the establishment and operation of pre-removal centers, which resulted in NGOs and solidarity groups offering meals in temporary accommodation sites, squares and streets. In several cases the third-country nationals covered the expenses by own means, buying food from local restaurants and ready meals and snacks from local shops. In May 2015, and while the flows towards the Eastern Aegean islands were growing, an amendment included in Law 4325/2015 (Article 36) introduced a provision that extended (also retroactively) up to 31 December 2015 a possibility given for one year only by a law of 2011.156 This possibility concerned the exceptional, for emergency reasons, approval of expenses without publication of a tender notice, inter alia, for the provision of alimentation to third-country nationals who irregularly entered Greece. Considering that the majority of the third-country nationals was advancing increasingly faster from the islands to Athens and then to the borders, until they exited the country with other European states as their final destination, the provision of food to this population on the move, had a temporary nature regarding the specific recipients each time, but was a continuous need, since the numbers were renewed with continuous new arrivals of thousands of people to the islands. This ongoing need that was emerging as a new reality was not assessed adequately at the time by the State, which meant that a few months later it was forced to seek new ways to address the crisis, under the pressure of the Court of Au156 Article 28(8) of Law 4033/2011 provided that: “With regard to issues of shelter, food, health and returns of third-country nationals that irregularly enter the country, and in particular with regard to expenses provided for by Articles 4 and 8 of Law 3907/2011 ‘Establishment of Asylum Service and First Reception Service, adaptation of the Greek legislation to the provisions of Directive 2008/115/EC on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals and other provisions’ (Α’ 7) for which emergency reasons apply for a period of one year after the entry into effect of this law and which are fully and adequately justified according to the provisions of Article 25 of Presidential Decree 60/2007 ‘Adaptation of the Greek legislation to the provisions of Directive 2004/18/EC on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts as amended by Directive 2005/51/EC of the Commission and Directive 2005/75/ EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2005’ (Α’ 64), it is possible in the relevant public contracts for projects, preparation of studies, procurements and services, in deviation of the applicable provisions, to implement once only the negotiation procedure, without publishing a tender notice”. 49