Introduction solely to the leaders of the Member States. The reference to the EU, according to the arguments raised by the European Council which were accepted by the General Court of the EU, was made for reasons of "simplification" of the terminology used by the broad public, and should in any case be interpreted with the "journalistic" sense of the term, as referring in fact to the leaders of the Member States of the Union and not the EU itself... ples, by imposing even broad spectrum economic embargoes and restrictions on trade with countries that do not share and respect the above principles, with adverse consequences on the daily life both of the third-country nationals and the European citizens. At the same time, it appears willing to yield in the faithful and firm implementation and focus on these principles, when its own humanitarian aid and inclusion policies are implemented within its borders. In the midst of this contradictory web of political correlations, the emerging priority of the EU leaders, as expressed through their initiatives and statements and reflected in the EU-Turkey Statement, is the formulation of a framework for the management of mixed flows -that is, both economic migrants and asylum seekers, without exception- which creates an inhospitable environment for those already staying and a deterrent one for the intended new arrivals. In fact, by geographically restricting those entering Greece in the islands of the Eastern Aegean, after the entry into force of the Statement, and the subsequent overcrowding, the living conditions and the terms of administrative treatment would inevitably fall behind the minimum acceptable ones for a Union that was established and developed as a protector and defender of the "values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities". However, for a wise and informed commenter, this apparent contradiction between the declared and fundamental principles of the Union and its actual lines of action, is explained by the previous analysis: The EU, through its executive branch, the Commission, as well as its separate agencies, is called upon to contribute to and support the implementation of a plan, providing coordination, contributing know-how, releasing human resources and funds -both emergency and extraordinary as well as through its regular financing instruments- the ownership of which it still cannot assume. At the same time, it accepts and absorbs the criticism for the deficits at the level of protecting and respecting the human rights of the populations on the move, and is called upon to implement the terms of a transnational agreement that lies, to a great extent, outside the regulatory framework of the EU itself, in terms of both its legal and humanitarian culture. For the well-intended observer, the EU appears to be, to put it mildly, inconsistent: Its external policy is "guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law". Its political and economic alliances and partnerships are developed and formed with countries and organisations that share these principles. In fact, it advocates in favour of taking active measures for the promotion of these princi- Greece was found in the center of both the crises that are testing Europe's cohesion, as an economic and cultural entity. After eight consecutive years of recession, the shrinking of incomes as well as citizens' rights, the crisis, from economic-fiscal, has evolved into a broader social one, with features of a now humanitarian crisis. Inside this undoubtedly compromising context, government, administrative and social structures were called upon to manage the population flows from third countries, in a way that befits a state governed by the rule of law, that respects and cares for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to provide services for the provision of nourishment, housing, health care, education, so- 8