The years after 2015 were remarkable for the reception and accommodation schemes of refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The EU-Turkey common statement of March 2016 and, most of all, the sealing of the Balkan corridor, blocked the flow of refugees towards central Europe through Greece, testing the readiness of the Greek authorities to take action to meet a series of urgent needs (accommodation, nutrition, asylum procedures, health) and social integration processes (education, training, access to labour). Approximately 45,000 refugees are settled in refugee camps or urban settlements all over the country. Those entrapped in the Eastern Aegean islands should be returned to Turkey, which is considered a “safe third country”. The purpose of this article is to shed light on a phenomenon that is ongoing and challenges a series of policies and legal principles both in Greece and the EU. © 2018 The Authors. International Migration © 2018 IOM

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education policy approach training Aegean Islands Greece refugee labor relations nutrition health care human settlement asylum seeker