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Migration and Home Affairs

Task Force Migration Management

Establishment and mission

The Task Force was set up within the European Commission’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) in the aftermath of the fires which destroyed the Moria facility on the Greek island of Lesvos. The mission of the Task Force is the coordination of the Union’s work on all strategic, operational, legal and financial issues linked to migration management.

How it works

The Task Force works in a matrix approach, tapping into established resources in DG HOME’s relevant units (policy, operational, financial) and cooperates closely with all other Commission services and EU agencies involved. Its work covers a wide range of coordination and support activities for Member States both in the Eastern and Southern external borders. The current mandate of the Task Force ends in September 2024. The Task Force has a coordinating and supporting function and does not change or replace the prime responsibility of the national authorities in migration management on their territory.

Key objectives of the Task Force Migration Management in Greece

  • Construction of new reception centres on the Greek islands meeting European standards, with adequate and appropriate access to sanitation, taking into account the needs of all groups, and in particular those of women, children and families.
  • Help ending the overcrowding in reception centres on the islands by supporting the transfer of vulnerable people to the mainland and the relocation of unaccompanied children and families with children to other EU countries.
  • Support fast, effective procedures to decide swiftly on asylum applications, to achieve to have shorter stays on the islands, bring clarity and certainty to applicants and ensure smooth follow-up of decisions to go from asylum to either return or integration.
  • Promoting increased voluntary returns of migrants to their country of origin, by making better use of the existing project for assisted voluntary return.
  • Improving safety and security for migrants and asylum seekers.
  • Full winterisation and appropriate sanitary and health conditions at the temporary facility on Lesvos, until the new reception centre on Lesvos is operational.

How does the European Commission support Greece managing migration?

FAQs

Documents

  • Memorandum of Understanding between the European Commission, Greek authorities and EU agencies on a joint pilot for the establishment of a new reception and identification centre in Lesvos