Major deficiencies in the provision of interpretation services in Greece
Even asylum interviews are no longer being conducted
Severe deficiencies in interpretation services over recent months have affected both refugee camps in Greece and the Greek Asylum Service. These gaps now hinder the state’s ability to provide essential services.
The problem within the Asylum Service, its Regional Asylum Offices and Asylum Units, has become extremely severe. Asylum registrations and interviews are now postponed or rescheduled due to the absence of interpreters. In some cases, depending on the office involved, asylum seekers are not even informed promptly about these delays. In other instances, appointments are left unscheduled, leaving individuals uncertain of when their registration or interview will take place.
Gaps in interpretation have led to “creative” and unorthodox solutions in certain cases. Asylum applicants are often requested to state their consent to the proceedings being carried out in Greek by signing solemn declarations confirming that they understand the language. Alternatively, third parties, not certified interpreters, may be used to assist as interpreters, with applicants again signing declarations accepting this arrangement. These declarations appear to be designed to shield the Asylum Service from responsibility, even though the law requires that interpretation services be provided by the state in a language understood by applicants throughout the entire reception and identification and asylum process.
Τhree cases represented by Refugee Support Aegean (written responses from the authorities on file) serve as examples of the broader issue:
- In a case involving a family with a newborn baby residing in the Ritsona camp, our request to the Piraeus Regional Asylum Office regarding the child’s registration was met with a written response as follows: “As long as there is no interpretation there are two ways to make the registration & applications: 1. The applicant may submit a solemn declaration affirming their ability to understand and communicate in Greek, 2. A third party could act as an interpreter […], provided the applicant signs a statement that they agree to this arrangement and that the Asylum Service is not responsible for the quality of the interpretation provided by the third party.” (!)
- In a case of a family residing in the Thermopylae camp, upon request for a vulnerability assessment due to sustained physical and psychological violence, with a view to securing special reception conditions and update their asylum file for their interview, we received a written response saying that: The vulnerability assessment could not be conducted at the referred Lamia hospital, since “the appointment of a few days ago was cancelled due to lack of interpretation” or within the camp itself, since “Interpretation services are not available at the moment in the Thermopylae facility”.
- In a case of people we represent, in order for them to file their second-instance appeal at the Attica Regional Asylum Office (Katehaki), our lawyer was asked to attend the proceedings and also sign the appeal (which is not foreseen), in order to assume the responsibility of informing on the document and interpreting for her clients, due to the absence of an interpreter at the Regional Asylum Office.
In refugee camps on both the mainland and islands, official data from 30 June 2024 showed only 69 interpreters covering all camps, equating to 1 interpreter per 267 people. This number is extremely low, particularly given the need for interpretation in multiple languages at each camp. In fact, 20 out of 32 camps had either one or no interpreters at all.
On 15 May 2024, METAdrasi, which had been the sole provider of interpretation services through a contract with the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, ceased operations due to the expiration of its contract and months of delayed payments. Consequently, interpretation services for the Asylum Service were also discontinued on 29 April 2024, for the same reasons. The interpretation services are funded by European funds from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) for the period 2021-2027.
The EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) had temporarily alleviated some of these shortages, deploying a total of 239 interpreters in Greece, including 78 in the Asylum Offices and 161 in the Reception and Identification Services, along with limited tele-interpretation hours with interpreters from other European countries. However, in mid-September, the EUAA significantly reduced this temporary support, as it was never intended to address Greece’s permanent interpretation needs.
