ATHENS – “It is difficult not to appreciate the progress made in Greece as regards asylum and reception issues,” the executive director of the European Asylum Support Service, Nina Gregori, said on Friday in an interview with the newspaper “Ta Nea”.

This progress “is largely due to the continuous efforts of the Greek Asylum Service and the Reception and Identification Service, with the strong support of the Asylum Service of the European Union”, she added.

As she explained, the time for examining asylum applications in the islands in the first phase is now “only 10 days”, although the time required on the mainland “is still much longer, but we are supporting the Greek Asylum Service in order to reduce it.”

At the same time, Gregori spoke of “very obvious improvements in reception conditions – as well as mentality – with the support of the EU,” citing as an example the rapid referral of unaccompanied children to specialised facilities.