lies at the heart of many of the long-standing problems Greece has experienced in protecting the rights of these persons’..926 Despite these calls, which remain relevant to this day, as reported by GCR and Oxfam in a joint submission to the EU Ombudsman in March 2023,927 ‘[t]he confinement of asylum applicants appears to be a primary objective in the new EU-funded sites [i.e. CCACs]’, with several measures leading to the deprivation of applicants’ liberty. The joint submission was made following the EU Ombudsman’s opening of an own-initiative inquiry to assess how the European Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece.928 Failure to comply with the geographical restriction has serious consequences, including detention of asylum seekers, as applicants apprehended outside their assigned island are – arbitrarily – placed in preremoval detention for the purpose of returning to their assigned island. They may also be subject to criminal charges under Article 182 of the Criminal Code. B. Housing 1. Types of accommodation Indicators: Types of Accommodation 1. Number of reception centres: 33 (reportedly)929 2. Total number of places in the reception system: Not available930 3. Total number of places in private accommodation: 0931 4. Type of accommodation most frequently used in a regular procedure: Reception centre Hotel or hostel Emergency shelter Private housing Other 5. Type of accommodation most frequently used in an accelerated procedure: Reception centre Hotel or hostel Emergency shelter Private housing Other Article 28 L. 4825/2021 (replacing para. 4 art. 8 L 4375/2016) provides that the Regional Services of the RIS are the: v Reception and Identification Centres (RICs), v Controlled Temporary Accommodation Centres and v Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCACs), which are structured and have similar responsibilities to the RICs and which include distinct spaces for the operation of Temporary Accommodation facilities and Pre-Removal Centres. 926 927 928 929 930 931 Council of Europe, Greek authorities should investigate allegations of pushbacks and ill-treatment of migrants, ensure an enabling environment for NGOs and improve reception conditions, 3 May 2021, available at: https://bit.ly/3fpRIOC. GCR and Oxfam, Contribution to the European Ombudsman's own-initiative inquiry OI/3/2022 MHZ on how the European Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece, 9 March 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3CjEbnT, p. 3. For more, see EU Ombudsman, How the European Commission ensures respect for fundamental rights in EU-funded migration management facilities in Greece, Case OI/3/2022/MHZ - Opened on Monday, 11 July 2022, available at: https://bit.ly/43bmmDb. Includes 24 temporary accommodation Centers which as per the MoMA’s website (relevant section here) were operational on the mainland as of 21 February 2024 (last access), and 9 RICs/CCACs, 3 of which on the mainland and 6 on the islands, which as per the MoMA’s website (relevant section here) were operational as of the same date. Reception capacity is only provided for island facilities, where, as of 31 December 2023, the number of reception places reportedly stood at 18,315 (17,737 in CCACs, 226 in facilities operating under the National Centre for Social Solidarity dedicated to the accommodation of UAM and 352 in Lesvos, categorised under “other accommodation facilities”, which likely refers to the Controlled Temporary Accommodation Facility of West Lesvos. National Coordination Center for Border Control, Immigration and Asylum (N.C.C.B.C.I.A.), National Situational Picture Regarding The Islands At Eastern Aegean Sea (31/12/2023), available at: https://tinyurl.com/47mtd9z8. Concerns the previous ESTIA accommodation programme that was terminated in December 2022. 188