Description
The project will cover the operating costs and costs for equipment of the First Reception Center in the area of “Moria” in Lesvos island, enabling the center to offer accommodation and care for irregular migrants and asylum seekers. The pre-defined project include the maintenance and repair of the First Reception Cen-tre, the development of information material and will provide material reception conditions including accommodation, food, clothes, footwear and hygiene supplies. The purpose of creating the First Reception Center is twofold: ensure access to the asylum procedure to all people entering Greece and identify persons belonging to vulnerable groups in order to refer them to the appropriate structure/ organization of protection/ assistance. The Project targets a specific group (irregular migrants/asylum seekers), taking specifically into account the needs of migrants belonging to vulnerable groups. It establishes and maintains a screening procedure, which makes the determination of the status of irregular migrants/ asylum seekers easier and gives them the possibility to make use of existing structures in Greece. At the same time this project aims to facilitate asylum seekers' access to asylum procedures. Consequently the most vulnerable group of migrants, namely unaccompanied children are expected to benefit. The Donor Programme Partner is The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) which is the Norway's central executive body for immigration and refugees and plays a key role as the competent authority in the field of asylum, migration and reception. During the cooperation with UDI, the First Reception Service is expected to build knowledge and techniques on optimization of the procedure for the management of the mixed migration flows, in terms of speed of screening procedures of the third country nationals and the quality of services of hospitality provided to the migration flows.
Summary of project results
The Project included the implementation of some subprojects necessary for the reception and effective management of third-country nationals (TCNs) in the Reception and Identification Centre (RIC) in Lesvos, one of the first so-called «hotspots» in the eastern part of Greece. Greece, in 2015, faced an unprecedented mass migration flow and as a result had difficulty in implementing its Action Plan for the management of migration and asylum system in accordance with Greek and European directives. Therefore, the establishment of reception places in the islands of Greece where migrants irregularly entered European territory for the first time was the only feasible solution. Financing these Centers was a difficult task. So through EEA Grants and with respect to the horizontal objectives of Greek Action Plan, the RIC in Lesvos provided: a) Immediate screening of TCNs and identification of their citizenship. b) Medical control, vulnerability assessment and provision of any necessary care and psychosocial support especially to unaccompanied minors. c) Provision of adequate information to TCNs on their rights and obligations, in particular for the procedure of applying for international protection or even for the procedure of voluntary return or readmission. d) Accommodation, catering, provision of clothes and personal hygiene objects for the most vulnerable group of migrants, namely unaccompanied children.During the implementation of the Project, there were 10.250 TCNs informed in RIC Lesvos on their rights and obligations, in particular for the procedure of applying for international protection while the target was 4.320 TCNs. Furthermore, there were 818 TCNs of the most vulnerable group of migrants, namely unaccompanied children accommodated in RIC Lesvos. In addition to that, the implementation of this project has contributed to the development of bilateral relations between Greece and the Donor countries in particular by:a) widening cooperation between Greece and these countries, b) achieving common results on issues related to migration and reception policies and the asylum procedures, c) dissemination of knowledge and mutual understanding. Moreover, bilateral actions took place, involving representatives from RIS and partners from Norway. These actions achieved the exchange of knowledge and good practices. The Programme gave the opportunity for further wider cooperation between the Norway and Greece in the area of Asylum and Migration.
Summary of bilateral results