The Intercultural Mediation and Asylum Department published its second report on the operation of the Migrant Integration Centres (MICs) in Greece.

Community centres in Greece are an important institution of local government, supporting social protection policies and fighting against social exclusion. They are funded by the European Social Fund. Since their establishment, community centres have been expanding their services through the creation of additional branches. One such branch comprises the MICs, created specifically for municipalities hosting a large number of migrants and refugees.

The main purpose of the MICs is to promote the integration of migrants at the local level, with a focus on employment, education, health, protection and welfare, social security and intercultural mediation. The centres welcome new arrivals, providing them with essential information and signposting or referring them to relevant services and organisations. They take an individualised approach, and are able able to monitor a person's progress through coordination with support networks. The MICs were initially only open to legally resident citizens, but their services have since been extended to people in the process of applying for asylum and being referred to housing programmes. 

This report examines the operation of the MICs. In Greece there are 11 MICs established in 10 municipalities (Athens, Andravida - Kyllini, Heraklion, Thiva, Thessaloniki, Kallithea, Kordelio - Evosmos, Lamia, Lesvos and Piraeus) throughout 2017 and 2018. Each MIC employs a social worker, a lawyer, a psychologist and an intercultural mediator. From their first days of operation until the third quarter of 2021, 49 170 people used their services.

The report presents data on specific challenges facing the MICs, gathered from 5 questionnaires distributed to the centres. The following key challenges were identified:

• Lack of administrative staff to greet and manage newcomers
• Weaknesses in intercultural mediation capacity
• Delays in the issuing of the AMKA (social security number) create problems in the registration of new arrivals and their referral to relevant services
• Staff training is needed on crisis management, local community integration policies and international protection issues

Most support currently provided by the MICs relates to the processing of benefits applications and referrals to other services. To a lesser extent, they provide advice on residence permits, legal assistance and registration of specific needs. Some MICs also offer integration activities such as Greek language courses, intercultural activities and support for labour market access.

The report - available only in Greek - concludes by outlining several proposals, including:

• extending the operation of the MICs for the 2021-2027 period;
• increasing the number of MICs and the size of their staff teams;
• strengthening and expanding the integration activities offered by MICs, such as language courses, awareness-raising, and support for access to the labour market;
• that MICs are supported to offer more housing support, especially for beneficiaries of international protection.