2.2. The domestic framework: Reception and Identification Centres The 2010 Greek Action Plan on Asylum already provided that third-country nationals should be subjected to first reception procedures upon entry. The competent authority to provide such services was the First Reception Service (FRS), established by L 3907/2011, as described in the previous country report. 261 On 3 April 2016, in the light of the EU-Türkiye statement of 18 March 2016, the Greek Parliament adopted a law ‘on the organisation and operation of the Asylum Service, the Appeals Authority, the Reception and Identification Service, the establishment of the General Secretariat for Reception, the transposition into Greek legislation of the provisions of Directive 2013/32/EU, provisions on the employment of beneficiaries of international protection and other provisions. This reform was passed through L 4375/2016.262 L 4375/2016 partially attempted to regulate the establishment and function of the hotspots and the procedures taking place thereat. However, national legislation has failed to effectively regulate the involvement of the EU Agencies, for example Frontex agents. Following the enactment of L 4375/2016, the FRS was succeeded by the Reception and Identification Service (RIS). The RIS is currently subsumed under the General Secretariat for Reception of Asylum Seekers of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum. 263 The IPA, in force since 1 January 2020, regulated the functioning of the RICs and the conduct of the reception and identification procedure in a similar way. Under the Asylum Code, 264 the relevant regulations were codified to include Closed Controlled Access Centre of Islands (CCACI.). 265 Article 38 of the Asylum Code, provides that: ‘All third-country nationals and stateless persons who enter without complying with the legal formalities in the country, shall be submitted to reception and identification procedures.’ 266 Reception and identification procedures are carried out in five stages: 267 1. Information on rights and obligations, transfer to other facilities, the possibility to seek protection or voluntary return, in a language the person understands or in a language that a person may reasonably be supposed to understand and in an accessible manner, by the Information Unit of the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) or the Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC) or in case of mass arrivals, by the Police, Coast Guard or Armed Forces; 268 2. Channelling to reception and identification procedures: According to the law, newly arrived persons should be directly transferred to a RIC or CCAC, where they are subject to a 5-day “restriction of freedom within the premises of the centre” (περιορισμός της ελευθερίας εντός του κέντρου), which can be further extended by a maximum of 25 days if reception and identification procedures have not been completed.269 This restriction of freedom entails “the prohibition to leave the Centre and the obligation to remain in it”. 270 Such a restriction is ordered on the basis of a written, duly motivated decision;271 3. Registration and medical checks, including identification of vulnerable groups;272 4. Referral to the asylum procedure: As soon as asylum applications are made, the Special Rapid Response Units (Ειδικά Κλιμάκια Ταχείας Συνδρομής) of the Asylum Service distribute the cases according to country of origin. Subsequently, they proceed to prioritisation of applications according to nationality (see Prioritised Examination);273 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 AIDA, Country Report Greece 2022 update, June 2023, p.42 available at: https://tinyurl.com/m5wkkj3. L 4375/2016, Gov. Gazette 51/A/3-4-2016, available at: http://bit.ly/2kKm2cu. Article1 PD, 18/2020 (ΦΕΚ 34/Α/19-2-2020), available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3wfJUHz. Asylum Code, available in Greek: https://bit.ly/3Ek1hfp. See also Article 12 of PD 77/2023 on the Establishment of Closed Controlled Access Centers. Article 38(1) Asylum Code. Article 38(2) Asylum Code. Article 39 Asylum Code. Article 40 Asylum Code. Ibid. Article 40(a) Asylum Code. Article 41 Asylum Code. To exit Article 42(c) Asylum Code. 67