ATHENS – Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi on Thursday described the directors of Greece's refugee and migrant accommodation facilities as "the spearhead of our national migration policy," during his greeting at a training seminar for the 32 directors of existing temporary accommodation facilities on the mainland.

The minister pointed out that "it will be the first time that the facilities will have directors who will report directly to the Greek state." He also announced that out of the current 93 structures, 60 now operating in hotels will be closed in 2020 and the residents transferred to other facilities or included in the ESTIA programme.

   Until now, 82 pct of European funding has been managed by international organisations and non-governmental organisations, Mitarachi said. "Our plan is to work with the permanent employees of the ministry, contractors, the 220 newly hired employees of the asylum service and the new heads of the existing accommodation facilities," he explained.

   Referring to the acceleration of the asylum process and the fact that 31,000 decisions have been issued in the last quarter, he said that the new directors will find 40,000 decisions waiting for them, both granting and denying asylum, that they must serve within the migrant facilities.

   In 2020, among other things, new fencing will be put up and entry-exit systems using biometric cards will be introduced, along with the installation of wireless internet to allow asylum decisions to be delivered electronically.

   As for the islands, primary health care services will be provided within the facilities to decongest hospitals, he said.