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2015 UNHCR subregional operations profile - Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe

| Overview |

UNHCR 2015 Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe subregional operations map

The number of asylum applications received in 2014 in European Union (EU) Member States has risen by 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2013. A quarter of the applicants are of Afghan, Eritrean or Syrian origin, and a similar proportion are under 18 years of age. There have also been many more asylum applications from stateless people, with an estimated total of 436,000 people across the European Union. Germany continues to be the recipient of the largest number of asylum applications, followed by France, Sweden, Italy and the United Kingdom.

In the first seven months of 2014, more than 87,000 people arrived in Italy by sea, mainly from Eritrea and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria). In an effort to reduce the risks linked to such journeys, in October 2013 the Italian Government launched the Mare Nostrum operation, which has rescued more than 100,000 people. Greece and Spain also recorded an increase in arrivals.

The economic situation in the region has had an impact on the capacity and readiness of many countries to strengthen their protection systems. Austerity measures have also hit civil-society organizations that provide services to asylum-seekers and refugees. Xenophobia and intolerance have led to incidents of discrimination and violence. States have responded by concentrating on curbing irregular movements, including through tighter border controls and detention, or penalization for illegal entry.

UNHCR will build on international and regional law and policy to support States' efforts to find durable solutions for unaccompanied and separated children, who have been arriving in the subregion in large numbers.

The Office continues to be particularly concerned about reports that some EU countries are placing barriers to entry or forcibly returning asylum-seekers and refugees.

In April 2014, the European Union adopted the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, representing a commitment of over EUR 3 billion for the next seven years (2014-2020). A major portion of this fund will be allocated to Member States' national programmes to complement their own domestic budgets, which should help improve asylum systems, reception modalities, and integration policies.

In this context, UNHCR's work in the subregion will also focus on:

  • Assisting and supporting governments to build and maintain fair and efficient asylum and protection systems;

  • Ensuring border management is more protection-sensitive. The Office will promote alternatives to detention. It will also advocate for reception conditions that meet minimum international standards;

  • Promoting responsibility-sharing among EU Member States, complementing the efforts of the European Commission and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO);

  • Promoting community participation and preventing and responding to incidents of sexual and gender-based violence(SGBV);

  • Advocating for more resettlement places and enhancing integration capacity in resettlement countries;

  • Urging States to accede to the 1954 and 1961 UN Statelessness Conventions, improving mechanisms to identify and protect stateless people and preventing and resolving situations of statelessness; and

  • Supporting EU policy-making processes related to people of concern and mobilizing regional political and financial support for UNHCR's work worldwide.

| Response and implementation |

Asylum and protection

In 2015, one of UNHCR's priorities will be to ensure the safeguarding of asylum space. To prevent deaths at sea, the organization will work with European States towards more concerted action. These efforts will be guided by its Central Mediterranean Sea Initiative (CMSI), which includes measures not only within the European Union, but also in transit or first asylum countries, and in countries of origin. The CMSI seeks to strengthen cooperation with relevant stakeholders. Admission practices will be monitored and the capacity of immigration and coast guard officials built, to help prevent refoulement and ensure that those in need of international protection can access territory.

UNHCR offices in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom will follow up on measures in respect of the Response to Vulnerability project. Standard operating procedures will be instituted in reception centres to respond to incidents of SGBV.

The Office will pursue efforts to build and maintain an effective asylum and protection system. Since 2013, UNHCR and the Government of Albania have worked in close collaboration to ensure the safe arrival of more than 240 former residents of the Hurriya temporary transit location (ex-Ashraf) in Iraq who are in need of international protection, and will continue working on durable solutions for this refugee group.

UNHCR will also work to assure reception conditions and procedures that are adequate for responding to asylum-seekers' specific needs and maintaining their dignity. UNHCR and UNICEF are developing guidance on how States can ensure respect for the best interests of unaccompanied children in Europe.

In line with the organization's global Beyond Detention strategy, rolled out in Hungary, Lithuania, Malta and the United Kingdom, the Office will promote alternatives to detention, as well as the release of children held and improvements in detention conditions.

Monitoring and reporting on national practices will help identify gaps and good practice. The follow-up study to Beyond Proof, which assesses credibility in claims lodged by unaccompanied children, will be completed in 2014 and will require implementation in 2015.

Having analysed the reasons for their movements, UNHCR has started developing a more comprehensive protection strategy for Afghans.

Comments on legislation in the context of the transposition of the asylum acquis, comparative analyses and judicial engagement, will allow UNHCR to contribute to the setting of national and regional legal standards. It will implement quality audit mechanisms and participate in some national asylum procedures, such as those in France, Italy and Spain.

UNHCR will continue to complement EASO's efforts to improve practical cooperation among EU Member States in building asylum systems and improving the quality of country-of-origin information.

The Office will pursue its efforts to identify cases for judicial engagement with national and European courts. It will continue to support the conference of refugee law judges in Germany. Judicial engagement and court interventions will permit UNHCR to ensure the correct application of relevant laws in refugee cases.

UNHCR works closely with civil-society organizations and others involved in refugee protection. Innovative approaches include high-visibility campaigns in public spaces and transport. In 2015, particular attention will be paid to improving social media communication.

Durable solutions

Despite 22 out of 36 countries contributing to UNHCR's resettlement efforts in some capacity, the number of resettlement places for the region remain limited. Special attention will be devoted to resettlement and humanitarian admission of Syrian refugees, and the Office will continue managing the Emergency Transit Centres in Timisoara (Romania) and Humenné (Slovakia).

In order to enhance reception and integration capacities and improve refugees' local integration prospects, the Office will work to raise awareness of the integration challenges facing 1.6 million refugees in the region and to promote good practice in labour market integration, housing and the building of social and professional networks.

Statelessness

UNHCR has launched a 10-year campaign to end statelessness, and will advocate for more EU Member States to accede to the 1954 and 1961 UN Statelessness Conventions. The organization will encourage and support States to adopt national action plans to address statelessness, conduct public awareness activities and advocate for a formal identification and protection mechanism for stateless people be established in countries that lack one.

The Office will continue to advocate for law reform preventing statelessness at birth or later in life, and the facilitation of naturalization. Cooperation with the European Network on Statelessness will continue.

| Financial information |

The budget for the subregion has increased significantly in the past years, from USD 51.1 million in 2011 to USD 68.1 million in 2015, primarily owing to the impact of the Syria Situation and asylum-seekers arriving by boat to the shores of Southern Europe.

The budget for the subregion will however be reduced during the course of 2015 as the operation in Albania will move to South-Eastern Europe within the context of UNHCR's regionalization process in the western Balkans.

Approximately 94 per cent of the 2015 budget is allocated to refugee programmes, with the remaining 6 per cent for statelessness activities.

UNHCR 2015 budgets for Northern, Western, Central and Southern Europe (USD)
Operation 2014
Revised budget
(as of 30 June 2014)
2015
Refugee
programme
PILLAR 1
Stateless
programme
PILLAR 2
Reintegration
projects
PILLAR 3
Total
Total 68,075,927 62,431,037 4,479,646 1,191,163 68,101,847
1. Includes activities in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, the Liaison Office in Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
2. Includes activities in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and as from 2015, also Croatia.
3. Includes activities in Albania, Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Spain.
4. Includes activities in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway.
Belgium Regional Office[1] 14,521,916 14,603,538 1,431,980 0 16,035,518
Hungary Regional Office[2] 17,069,083 11,993,641 1,702,007 1,191,163 14,886,811
Italy Regional Office[3] 24,976,188 22,677,175 223,092 0 22,900,267
Sweden Regional Office[4] 5,538,754 4,518,289 965,440 0 5,483,728
Regional Activities 5,969,986 8,638,394 157,127 0 8,795,521

Source: UNHCR Global Appeal 2015 Update


UNHCR contact information

The UNHCR Office in Greece
Style of Address The UNHCR Head of National Office in Greece
Street Address 12, Tagiapiera Street, GR11525 Athens, Greece
Mailing Address 12, Tagiapiera Street, GR11525 Athens, Greece
Telephone 30 210 672 6462
Facsimile 30 210 672 6417
Website http://www.unhcr.gr
Email great@unhcr.org
Time Zone GMT + 2
Working Hours
Monday:8:00 - 16:30
Tuesday:8:00 - 16:30
Wednesday:8:00 - 16:30
Thursday:8:00 - 16:30
Friday:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Public Holidays 01 January 2016, new years day
14 March 2016, clean monday
25 March 2016, independence day
29 April 2016, good friday
02 May 2016, easter monday
06 July 2016, eid al fitr
15 August 2016, assumption day
12 September 2016, eid al adha
28 October 2016, ochi day
26 December 2016, christmas day
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Statistical Snapshot*
* As at June 2015
  1. Country or territory of asylum or residence.
  2. Persons recognized as refugees under the 1951 UN Convention/1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention, in accordance with the UNHCR Statute, persons granted a complementary form of protection and those granted temporary protection. It also includes persons in a refugee-like situation for whom refugee status has, for practical or other reasons, not been ascertained. In the absence of Government figures, UNHCR has estimated the refugee population in many industrialized countries based on 10 years of individual asylum-seeker recognition.
  3. Persons whose applications for asylum or refugee status are pending as at 30 June 2015 at any stage in the asylum procedure.
  4. Refugees who have returned to their place of origin during the first half of 2015. Source: country of origin and asylum.
  5. Persons who are displaced within their country and to whom UNHCR extends protection and assistance. It also includes people in IDP-like situations. This category is descriptive in nature and includes groups of persons who are inside their country of nationality or habitual residence and who face protection risks similar to those of IDPs but who, for practical or other reasons, could not be reported as such.
  6. IDPs protected/assisted by UNHCR who have returned to their place of origin during the first half of 2015.
  7. Refers to persons who are not considered as nationals by any State under the operation of its law. This category refers to persons who fall under the agency's statelessness mandate because they are stateless according to this international definition, but data from some countries may also include persons with undetermined nationality.
  8. Refers to individuals who do not necessarily fall directly into any of the other groups but to whom UNHCR may extend its protection and/or assistance services. These activities might be based on humanitarian or other special grounds.
The data are generally provided by Governments, based on their own definitions and methods of data collection.
A dash (-) indicates that the value is zero, not available or not applicable.

Source: UNHCR/Governments.
Compiled by: UNHCR, FICSS.
Residing in Greece [1]
Refugees [2] 8,231
Asylum Seekers [3] 29,157
Returned Refugees [4] 0
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) [5] 0
Returned IDPs [6] 0
Stateless Persons [7] 214
Various [8] 0
Total Population of Concern 37,602
Originating from Greece [1]
Refugees [2] 112
Asylum Seekers [3] 84
Returned Refugees [4] 0
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) [5] 0
Returned IDPs [6] 0
Various [8] 0
Total Population of Concern 196
Government Contributions to UNHCR
Contributions since 2000
YearUSD
2014
More info 68,027
As at 15 January 2015
2013 115,445
2012
More info 1,436,911
Total contribution in USD: 1,436,911 [rank: 29]
Total contribution in currency: 1,153,255 (EUR)
Donor ranking per GDP: 36
Donor ranking per capita: 31
2011
More info 2,130,540
Total contribution in USD: 2,130,540 [rank: 24]
Total contribution in currency: 1,620,277 EUR
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 54,667 [rank: 37]
Donor ranking per GDP: 27
Donor ranking per capita: 25
2010
More info 550,843
Total contribution in USD: 550,843 (rank: 31)
Total contribution in currency: 420,250 EUR
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 524,246 (rank: 22)
Donor ranking per GDP: 38
Donor ranking per capita: 35
2009
More info 1,751,435
Total contribution in USD: 1,751,435 (rank: 30)
Total contribution in currency: 542,250 EUR; 1,000,000 USD
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 557,880 (rank: 22)
Donor ranking per GDP: 33
Donor ranking per capita: 32
2008
More info 2,442,039
Total contribution in USD: 2,442,039 (rank: 24)
Total contribution in currency: 1,258,110 (EUR); 500,000 (USD)
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 622,084 (rank: 23)
Donor ranking per GDP: 26
Donor ranking per capita: 26
2007
More info 1,750,381
Total contribution in USD: 1,750,381 (rank: 28)
Total contribution in currency: 1,313,500 (EUR)
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 1,120,938 (rank: 20)
Donor ranking per GDP: 33
Donor ranking per capita: 28
2006
More info 1,190,771
Total contribution in USD: 1,190,771 [1] (rank: 36)
Total contribution in currency: 940,000 (EUR)
Unrestricted contribution (USD): 1,015,228 (rank: 22)
Donor ranking per GDP: 25
Donor ranking per capita: 25
[1] In addition, Greece agreed to reallocate USD 3,713,265 of unspent funds from its 2005 Tsunami contribution against the 2006 Annual Programme Budget.
2005
More info 4,961,521
USD 4,961,521 of which 1,138,347 (23%) unrestricted and USD 3,823,174 (77%) earmarked at the country level.
2004
More info 1,411,789
USD 1,411,789 of which USD 1,006,101 (71%) was unrestricted and USD 405,688 (29%) earmarked at the country level.
2003
More info 1,588,213
USD 1,588,213 of which USD 750,000 (47%) was unrestricted, USD 300,000 (19%) earmarked at the subregional level and USD 538,213 (34%) earmarked at the country level.
2002
More info 798,216
USD 798,216 of which USD 600,000 unrestricted (75%), USD 198,216 earmarked at the sub-regional level (25%).
2001
More info 821,550
USD 821,550 of which 300,000 (37%) unrestricted and 521,550 (63%) earmarked.
2000
More info 300,000
USD 300,000 of which 100% unrestricted.
Private Sector Contributions to UNHCR
Private sector fund raising 2013

Total contribution in USD: 254,178
Total contribution in currency: 194,388 (EUR)
Major donorUSD
Stavros Niarchos Foundation76,628

2013 Contributions chart
Contributions since 2006
YearUSD
2014
More info 141,540
As at 15 January 2015
2013
More info 254,178

Total contribution in USD: 254,178
Total contribution in currency: 194,388 (EUR)
Major donorUSD
Stavros Niarchos Foundation76,628
2012
More info 273,255

Total contribution in USD: 273,255
Total contribution in currency: 211,157 (EUR)
2011
More info 318,629

Total contribution in USD: 318,629
Total contribution in currency: 231,443 (EUR)
2010
More info 299,843

Total contribution in USD: 299,843
Total contribution in currency: 224,327 EUR
2009 414,899
2008 762,004
2007 503,251
2006 607,816

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George Dalaras

George Dalaras

The makeshift camp at Patras

Thousands of irregular migrants, some of whom are asylum-seekers and refugees, have sought shelter in a squalid, makeshift camp close to the Greek port of Patras since it opened 13 years ago. The camp consisted of shelters constructed from cardboard and wood and housed hundreds of people when it was closed by the Greek government in July 2009. UNHCR had long maintained that it did not provide appropriate accommodation for asylum-seekers and refugees. The agency had been urging the government to find an alternative and put a stronger asylum system in place to provide appropriate asylum reception facilities for the stream of irregular migrants arriving in Greece each year.The government used bulldozers to clear the camp, which was destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards. All the camp residents had earlier been moved and there were no casualties. Photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, visited the camp earlier in the year.

The makeshift camp at Patras

Beyond the Border

In 2010, the Turkish border with Greece became the main entry point for people attempting by irregular methods to reach member states of the European Union, with over 132,000 arrivals. While some entered as migrants with the simple wish of finding a better life, a significant number fled violence or persecution in countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq and Somalia. The journey is perilous, with many reports of drowning when people board flimsy vessels and try to cross the Mediterranean Sea or the River Evros on the border between Greece and Turkey. The many deficiencies in the Greek asylum system are exacerbated by the pressure of tens of thousands of people awaiting asylum hearings. Reception facilities for new arrivals, including asylum-seekers, are woefully inadequate. Last year, UNHCR visited a number of overcrowded facilities where children, men and women were detained in cramped rooms with insufficient facilities. UNHCR is working with the Greek government to improve its asylum system and has called upon other European states to offer support.

Beyond the Border

A Teenager in Exile

Like fathers and sons everywhere, Fewaz and Malak sometimes struggle to coexist. A new haircut and a sly cigarette are all it takes to raise tensions in the cramped apartment they currently call home. But, despite this, a powerful bond holds them together: refugees from Syria, they have been stranded for almost a year in an impoverished neighbourhood of Athens.

They fled their home with the rest of the family in the summer of 2012, after war threw their previously peaceful life into turmoil. From Turkey, they made several perilous attempts to enter Greece.

Thirteen-year-old Malak was the first to make it through the Evros border crossing. But Fewaz, his wife and their two other children were not so lucky at sea, spending their life savings on treacherous voyages on the Mediterranean only to be turned back by the Greek coastguard.

Finally, on their sixth attempt, the rest of the family crossed over at Evros. While his wife and two children travelled on to Germany, Fewaz headed to Athens to be reunited with Malak.

"When I finally saw my dad in Athens, I was so happy that words can't describe," says Malak. However, the teenager is haunted by the possibility of losing his father again. "I am afraid that if my dad is taken, what will I do without him?"

Until the family can be reunited, Malak and his father are determined to stick together. The boy is learning to get by in Greek. And Fewaz is starting to get used to his son's haircut.

A Teenager in Exile

Jihan's Story

Like millions, 34-year-old Jihan was willing to risk everything in order to escape war-torn Syria and find safety for her family. Unlike most, she is blind.

Nine months ago, she fled Damascus with her husband, Ashraf, 35, who is also losing his sight. Together with their two sons, they made their way to Turkey, boarding a boat with 40 others and setting out on the Mediterranean Sea. They hoped the journey would take eight hours. There was no guarantee they would make it alive.

After a treacherous voyage that lasted 45 hours, the family finally arrived at a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, called Milos - miles off course. Without support or assistance, they had to find their own way to Athens.

The police detained them for four days upon their arrival. They were cautioned to stay out of Athens, as well as three other Greek cities, leaving them stranded.

By now destitute and exhausted, the family were forced to split up - with Ashraf continuing the journey northwards in search of asylum and Jihan taking their two sons to Lavrion, an informal settlement about an hour's drive from the Greek capital.

Today, Jihan can only wait to be reunited with her husband, who has since been granted asylum in Denmark. The single room she shares with her two sons, Ahmed, 5, and Mohammad, 7, is tiny, and she worries about their education. Without an urgent, highly complex corneal transplant, her left eye will close forever.

"We came here for a better life and to find people who might better understand our situation," she says, sadly. "I am so upset when I see how little they do [understand]."

Jihan's Story

Greece: Coordinating volunteers on LesvosPlay video

Greece: Coordinating volunteers on Lesvos

To help manage an influx of people arriving on the Greek Islands by boat, volunteer organizations and hundreds of individual volunteers have stepped in. One of UNHCR's roles on Lesvos is to work with the volunteers and coordinate their efforts.

Greece: Ramping up refugee receptionPlay video

Greece: Ramping up refugee reception

UNHCR staff are working with Government authorities, NGOs and volunteers on the beaches of the Greek island of Lesvos to receive cold, wet and fearful asylum seekers making landfall around the clock. They wrap them in thermal blankets and take them to warm, safe emergency accommodation at transit sites, with power and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Serbia: Presevo Crossing from FYR MacedoniaPlay video

Serbia: Presevo Crossing from FYR Macedonia

On October 20, the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece passed the half million mark. Their ultimate destination is northern Europe. The majority will take a route that goes from Greece, to FYR Macedonia and then onward through Serbia. At the border point of Presevo, Serbia they must go through a registration process before being allowed to continue their onward journey.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Refugees Onward JourneyPlay video

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia: Refugees Onward Journey

A transit centre at Vinojug, on FYR Macedonia's border with Greece is where the refugees and migrants pass through on their journey further into Europe. Here UNHCR and partner organisations provide food, water, medical care, psycho-social support and information for refugees who take the train towards the border with Serbia. UNHCR also provides information on how to access the asylum system in the country. In recent weeks, an average of 6,300 refugees pass through the camp every day, yesterday that number grew to 10,000, a record.

Greece: Registration Urgency
Play video

Greece: Registration Urgency

The Greek Island of Lesbos receives thousands of refugees and migrants every day. A registration centre at Moria – the only hotspot on Lesbos – is working hard to process these new arrivals. But facilities are stretched. Most new arrivals are from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but there are up to 20 other nationalities.

Greece: Refugee Crisis in EuropePlay video

Greece: Refugee Crisis in Europe

© UNHCR/F.Bucciarelli

Over 100,000 refugees have arrived to Greece by sea this year. UNHCR is mobilizing emergency teams, resources and delivering basic humanitarian assistance in order to address the most urgent gaps and support government efforts. Volunteers, local communities and NGOs are providing invaluable assistance but they need support.

Greece: Refugees in KosPlay video

Greece: Refugees in Kos

UNHCR is stepping up its field presence in the eastern Aegean islands of Greece where, in recent weeks, an average of 600 people, mostly refugees, have been arriving every day by sea from Turkey.

Greece: Syrian Refugees StrugglePlay video

Greece: Syrian Refugees Struggle

As Syrian refugees escape conflict and seek refuge in Greece, they face major new challenges.
Greece: A Way into EuropePlay video

Greece: A Way into Europe

Desperate Syrian refugees take deadly risks to get to Europe.
The Long WaitPlay video

The Long Wait

Every week dozens of foreigners queue for hours outside an Athens police building hoping for a chance to apply for asylum.
Greece: A Harsh Welcome to Europe Play video

Greece: A Harsh Welcome to Europe

Mojahed has finally arrived in Greece after a long, perilous journey from his home in Darfur, Sudan. But conditions in Patras are dire.
Greek Gateway to NowherePlay video

Greek Gateway to Nowhere

Asylum-seekers see Greece as a gateway to Europe, but the reality is quite different.
Greece: Asylum-SeekersPlay video

Greece: Asylum-Seekers

Greece, buffeted by an economic crisis, is struggling to deal with a significant influx of migrants and asylum-seekers.