Migration management in mainland Greece improved significantly

Today the European Commission adopted a Communication providing an update on the status of migration management in Greece, with a focus on the asylum and reception systems in mainland Greece, where Dublin transfers are received.

In the past ten years, Greece has been one of the most affected Member States when it comes to irregular arrivals of third country nationals at its land and sea borders, which created significant challenges for Greece and put its national migration management system under considerable strain. Over recent years, Greece has developed a good national migration management system, with the infrastructure, equipment and tools required. By scaling up its authorities’ capacity, Greece has addressed issues of overcrowding and sub-standard reception conditions in mainland centres. Reception and international protection procedures have been streamlined and accelerated. Protection of the most vulnerable persons has improved, and the legislative framework put in place for unaccompanied minors offers a positive outlook. Integration is now evolving as a national policy priority.

On this basis, while improvements may continue to be necessary in certain aspects of migration management, the Commission concludes that there are no longer systemic deficiencies in the Greek mainland asylum and reception system. This indicates that Greece can participate in the Dublin system of transfers of asylum seekers in the same manner as another Member State.

Over the past years, the Commission and EU Agencies have provided substantial operational and financial support to migration management and worked closely with Greek authorities, including through a specific Task Force. Since 2015, Greece has received over €5 billion financial support from EU Home Affairs funds, with over €1.66 billion in the current financial framework 2021-2027.

The strong cooperation from the Commission will continue to support Greece in ensuring the migration management conditions further improve. This is timely also in view of the ongoing work to support Member States ahead of the entry into application of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in mid-2026.