2.2.2. Transfers Based on GCR’s experience, transfers under the Dublin III Regulation are carried out by the Asylum Service, with the assistance of EUAA personnel. The Transfer Department of the Dublin Unit follows the transfer procedure. The department coordinates with the responsible travel agency for the tickets to be booked and sent to the applicants and/or their legal representative in due time. Before the transfer takes place, the Dublin Unit submits medical documents to the airline company, as well as the requested Member State. On the day of transfer, an employee from the Department of Foreign Affairs meets the applicants at the airport in order to provide them with a laissez-passer, help them with the check-in and boarding. The above-mentioned information regarding the transfer is forwarded to the asylum seekers by the Greek Dublin Unit, along with the tickets. Travel costs are covered by the Asylum Service. During 2023, transfers of asylum seekers, including unaccompanied minors, in the context of family reunification ("Dublin III") were suspended due to the termination of the contract for the provision of air transport services and the delay of the procedure for the conclusion of the new one between the Department of Immigration and Asylum and the travel agency. Following a report from an accommodation Structure for unaccompanied minors and the intervention of the Greek Ombudsman, the process was completed and transfers restarted.448 During May and June 2023, 66 outgoing transfers were implemented under the Dublin procedure. According to a notification on Ministry’s website “Statistics on Dublin Transfers are not currently available for the period of July 2023 - December 2023 due to the upgrade of the computer system carried out by the Services of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum.” There have been no other data available in relation to the numbers and types of requests for 2023 as of the publication of this report.449 Outgoing Dublin transfers by month: 2023 Jan - Feb - Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total - - - 50 16 - - - - - 66 Source: Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Migration and Asylum, Statistics available at: https://bit.ly/3uyzcLG. 2.3. Personal interview Indicators: Dublin: Personal Interview Same as regular procedure 1. Is a personal interview of the asylum seeker in most cases conducted in practice in the Dublin procedure? Yes No v If so, are interpreters available in practice, for interviews? Yes No 2. Are interviews conducted through video conferencing? Frequently Rarely Never Questions relating to the Dublin procedure (e.g., on the presence of other family members in another Member States) are always addressed to the applicant during the Regular Procedure: Personal Interview examining the asylum claim. According to GCR’s experience, applicants who at this later stage, well after the three-month deadline, express their will to be reunited with a close family member in another EU Member State, have the chance to apply for family reunification. In several cases handled by GCR, the 448 449 Greek Ombudsman, Resumption of transfers of unaccompanied minors in the context of family reunification (“Dublin III”) following the Ombudsman’s intervention, 27 November 2023, available in Greek at: https://tinyurl.com/yb73uyu6. MoMA, Statistics, Consolidated Reports - Overview: December 2023 - International Protection | Appendix A, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yc2stzh7, table 17. 96