❖ Phase 1: the preparatory phase, in which a list of identified unaccompanied minors was drafted and shared by the Special Secretary of Unaccompanied Minors with the Greek Asylum Service and then with EASO. ❖ Phase 2: a Best Interest Assessment interview takes place, during which the eligibility of each minor was assessed. The procedure was led by EASO with the support of UNCHR and the child protection partners. After the completion of the interview, the assessment and any other supportive documentation were submitted to the Greek Authorities and the receiving countries. ❖ Phase 3 and last phase: the transfer of the person to the Member State which accepted the responsibility for them. Prior to this final step, some countries, such as France, used to hold another interview before the Consulate or Embassy of their country in Greece. This interview is called ‘security interview’. Prior to the transfer, the selected minor was accommodated to transitional facilities run by IOM, for the necessary administrative procedures and medical examinations take place. A minor’s case is not definitively excluded from the relocation programme should the case not be accepted by a Member State. On the contrary, the applicant is internally proposed to another state for relocating. A person is excluded only if they refuse in written to be transferred to the Member State which has 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, in case an applicant has been accused or convicted of committing a crime, regardless its severity, would be considered ineligible for relocation. Criteria based on ethnicity, nationality, sex and age were not set. During 2022, 394 individuals, including 134 unaccompanied children, were relocated to other EU Member States under the voluntary relocation scheme. By the end of 2022, 5,164 individuals in total, including 1,333 unaccompanied children were relocated to other EU Member States under the voluntary relocation scheme.343 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 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 where the Dublin Unit has access to. As already mentioned in the sections on Determining authority and Regular Procedure, EUAA also assists the authorities in the Dublin procedure. According to the 2021 Operational and Technical Assistance Plan agreed by EASO and Greece,344 EASO provides support to the Asylum Service for processing applications for international protection at first instance in mainland and in the islands, to improve, among others, the timely identification of Dublin cases and the quality of the files submitted to the Dublin Unit. Specifically, EASO provides support to the Dublin Unit to process outgoing information requests according 343 344 Ministry of Migration and Asylum, ‘Statistics’, April 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3OuNZm9. EASO and Greece, 2021 Operating Plan, December 17 December 2020, available at: https://bit.ly/3qDLOzQ. 77