Reception Conditions Short overview of the reception system On 10 June 2022, L 4939/2022 (Asylum Code) replaced the former L 4636/2019 (IPA - Articles 1-112 and 114) which incorporated the relevant EU (recast) Directives (Directive 2013/33/EU, Directive 2013/32/EU and Directive 2011/95/EU).905 L 4939/2022 constitutes a codification of legislation on reception, international protection of third country nationals and stateless persons, as well as on temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and was incorporated as per the provisions of P.D. 80/2006 (A΄ 82), following the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382. The Asylum Code also incorporates L 4960/2022 on the National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs),906 which entered into force on 22 July 2022 and which replaced former -and never implemented- L. 4554/2018 on guardianship. Under the Asylum Code, the Reception and Identification Service (RIS) within the Secretariat General of Reception of Asylum Applicants under the Ministry of Migration and Asylum (MoMA) is defined as the authority responsible for reception.907 The Special Secretary for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUM), which was established under the MoMA in February 2020, 908 competent for the protection of UAM, including for their accommodation, and also for the guardianship of UAMs, was abolished in June 2023. Its responsibilities (under Article 39 of P.D. 106/2020) were transferred to the new General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection (GSVPIP) established with Article 6(1) of P.D. 77/2023 (A' 130/ 27.6.2023),909 falling under the competency of the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum.910 The new General Secretariat is also competent for the National Emergency Response Mechanism, according to Article 66ΛΓ Asylum Code added with Article 39 of L. 4960/2022. With regard to the composition of the reception system, a substantial change occurred in 2022, when the ESTIA accommodation scheme was terminated. ESTIA provided rented housing to vulnerable asylum applicants in the context of reception. The scheme, which since January 2021 had been operating under the sole responsibility of the MoMA,911 was terminated at the end of 2022, amidst increased concerns for former residents, such as families that had already started the integration process and children who were enrolled to school, who upon exiting ESTIA, were frequently left to their fate or on the streets or forced to interrupt their education (school). 912 The programme’s termination, which had been announced by the MoMA in February 2022,913 also signified the transformation of Greece’s reception system into one exclusively modelled on camp-based accommodation, with very few exceptions concerning in particular UAM (e.g., shelters and SILs). In 2024, islands CCAC and mainland camps, remained the dominant forms of reception. During 2024, the RIS registered a total of 65,072 persons, the vast majority of whom (51,325) were registered in the border CCACs (Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Leros, Kos) and the Fylakio RIC, and the rest (13,147) in the mainland RICs of Malakasa, Diavata and Sindiki. Of the total of those registered, the vast majority were boys and men (47,747), of whom 10,187 between the ages of 0-17; 28,860 between 18-34; and 8,055 between 35-64. Women and girls accounted for 17,615, of whom 6,424 were under the age of 18; 7,847 were between 18-34; and 3,435 between 35-63. Another 264 of those registered were 65 years of age or older, but the data does not indicate their gender. 914 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 For the history of legislation, see AIDA Update 2023 for Greece, p. 174, available here. L 4960/2022 National Guardianship System and Framework of Accommodation of UAMs and other provisions under the jurisdiction of the MoMA. Article 1(ιστ΄) Asylum Code. Article 1(3) P.D.18/2020, Gov. Gazette 34/Α/19-2-2020. P.D. 77/2023 (A' 130/ 27.6.2023), available here. MoMA, Webpage of the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection, available at: https://tinyurl.com/2sspd4xx. See, e.g., MoMA, Press Release on ESTIA 2021, February 2021, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3uwgpjX. EfSyn, Ανέστιοι πρόσφυγες χωρίς το ESTIA, 24 December 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3YYaWjw; News24/7, The government threw mothers with underage children on the streets, 10 December 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3lFktO2 and GCR, Evictions, Homelessness and setbacks to integration, 30 November 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3S9uwHz. MoMA, ESTIA II to be completed in 2022, 22 February 2022, available in Greek at: https://bit.ly/3iGewf1. MoMA / General Secretariat for Reception of Asylum Seekers, Registered Third-country nationals/stateless persons in Regional Units (CCAC / RIC) of Islands and Fylakio of the RIS for the year 2024, available at: https://tinyurl.com/6hh4fd6b; and Registered Third-country nationals/stateless persons in Regional Units (RIC / MURCT) in Mainland of the RIS for the year 2024,available at: https://tinyurl.com/46bec6ut. 176