(B) Special reception conditions for vulnerable persons EU law states that the reception of ‘persons with special reception needs should be a primary concern for national authorities in order to ensure that such reception is specifically designed to meet their special reception needs’ (EU/33/2013, preamble para. 14). When implementing the recast Reception Conditions Directive, Member States must take into consideration the specific situation of vulnerable persons and ensure that vulnerability assessments take place within a reasonable time period following an application for international protection (Art. 21 and 22, EU/33/2013). This is transposed in Greek law which provides that the needs of vulnerable persons such as minors (accompanied and unaccompanied), people with disabilities, elderly people, single-parent households and pregnant women should be taken into account in the provision of reception conditions (Art. 62(1) of the Asylum Code; Art. 1(lc) provides a nonexhaustive list of recognised vulnerabilities¹¹). However, neither EU nor Greek law lays out a detailed definition of special reception conditions (although Article 28 L. 4825/2021 specifically provides for distinct spaces within reception facilities appropriate for the accommodation of vulnerable persons). EU law additionally tasks Member States with providing ‘necessary medical or other assistance to applicants who have special reception needs, including appropriate mental health care where needed’ (EU/33/2013, Art. 19(2)), however this has not been transposed into Greek law. (C) Jurisprudence of the ECtHR Multiple rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) have found Greece in violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, based on failings to provide asylum seekers with adequate living conditions¹². The landmark 2011 M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece ruling by the ECtHR found that the Greek Government violated Article 3 of the ECHR due to conditions in Greek detention facilities, the living conditions of asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors, and the lack of an effective remedy against expulsion due to deficiencies in the asylum procedure. Submissions by civil society in 2023¹³ demonstrate that, despite twelve years passing, Greece had yet to fully implement the judgement. In its ongoing supervision of the case, the Council of Europe has requested further information¹⁴ from the Greek authorities regarding the quality of services in mainland camps and general updates on the provision of accommodation, material aid and health and welfare services for asylum seekers, in addition to further information on the reception and living conditions of vulnerable persons. 12