On 22 July 2022, L 4960/2022 on the National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of UAMs entered into force,488 replacing former law L4554/2018 on guardianship, which had never been implemented in practice. New provisions on guardianship and accommodation were inserted in the third part of the Asylum Code regarding Reception. Under the new legislative provisions, general competency was transferred from the National Centre for Social Solidarity of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to the Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUAM), being succeded in 2023 by the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection. Under the new law, the provision of guardianship is relegated to a list of legal entities appointed by the Public Prosecutor (i.e., public entities, NGOs, international organisations) who employ persons acting as guardians. The Public Prosecutor can also appoint a child’s family member or friend to be responsible for their everyday care. At the end of October 2023, the NGOs METAdrasi and Praksis were announced by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum as the finalist candidates entrusted with the implementation of the National Guardianship scheme, following a public procurement procedure. The project officially begun on 1st November 2023. The first two months consisted of preparatory actions (trainings, prioritisation of cases, etc.). Now, guardians are deployed and started work (see Legal representation of unaccompanied children). The number of applications for family reunification of unaccompanied minors before the Asylum Service in 2025 is not available. In August 2018, the Greek Dublin Unit introduced the Best Interests Assessment (BIA) Form to support unaccompanied minors claims under Dublin Regulation 604/2013. The BIA Form aims to gather and assess all necessary information required by Member States to assess the family reunification requests of unaccompanied minors and is an indispensable element of take-charge requests. UNHCR, UNICEF and EASO contributed to the development of the BIA while the National Dublin Unit considered tools and reports used by many other bodies, local organisations and NGO’s. 489 On 2 August 2023, the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum launched the pilot implementation of a new Toolkit, in the framework of the project "Harmonization, Establishment and Certification of Best Interests Procedures", with a view to establish standardised tools and harmonise the best interest assessment procedure of the child. The aim of the project, in line with the National Strategy for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors, is to harmonise the best interest procedures in Greece, by using standardised best interest assessment forms and by having the assessment process carried out by experienced and trained professionals. The project has been implemented since November 2022, in cooperation with UNHCR and the European Union Agency for Asylum.490 The submission of the best interest assessment does not necessarily lead to the acceptance of a take charge request, since other elements are also taken into consideration by the requested Member States, although no such requirement is provided in Article 8 Dublin III Regulation. These elements are considered evidence of the relative’s ability to support the minor applicant. GCR is aware of cases in which house contracts, photos of the place where the minor will be accommodated in the relative’s house and proof of income have been requested to prove the family member’s or/and relative’s ability to take care of the applicant. According to NGOs, Italy requests house contract and tax declaration. 488 489 490 L 4960/2022 National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of UAMs and other provisions under the jurisdiction of the MoMA. For more, AIDA – Country Report: Greece, 2022 Update, June 2023, available at: https://bit.ly/3PUOVk9, p. 72 et.seq. See the MoMA’s website under “Dublin III Regulation” at: https://bit.ly/3Vy0MWZ; MoMA, General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum launches new Toolkit on Best Interests Procedures, 18 August 2023, available at: https://tinyurl.com/4za42e7a. 103