Addressing statelessness in Europe’s refugee response ‘[FRA’s] work providing oversight to Frontex has sound methodology and they have some very good people.’ (Lawyer interviewed in Greece) The discussion around challenges and opportunities was limited in Serbia by the lack of conscious interaction between stateless refugees and civil society actors, and the lack of recognition of statelessness as being relevant in that context. The larger international NGOs delivering frontline services admitted to a lack of focus on the issue attributing this to people being in transit: ‘I never asked them any question about statelessness. All refugees that I have talked to came to Serbia without documents, but that was not recognised as an issue, since they are just transiting.’ (INGO interviewed in Serbia) An opportunity to raise awareness and ‘educate ourselves’ about statelessness was identified by NGOs through an established network of agencies supporting refugees in Serbia, who meet regularly to discuss issues arising from their work. In the Netherlands, some community representatives spoke of research fatigue, lack of scope for reform, and frustration with a Dutch system that ‘has no experience with stateless people’ and law that is ‘fixed’ and ‘not flexible’. Nonetheless or perhaps due to this perceived inflexibility, suggested solutions focused on awareness-raising with the wider public and through the media rather than direct advocacy with the Government. A statelessness-specific NGO or community organisation to provide support and information about statelessness and to stateless people was also highlighted as a need, as well as more training and capacity-building for organisations and authorities across the country. NATIONAL AUTHORITIES A small sample of national authorities were interviewed in each of the three research countries, including two in Greece, one in Serbia, and two in the Netherlands. Although this is a very small sample, and the roles of those interviewed varied, these and discussions with other stakeholders pointed towards common challenges faced by authorities and indicated a need for further exploration of the capacity of officials at regional, national and local levels to address statelessness, and the systems and resources required to do this effectively. Knowledge of statelessness and nationality issues Levels of awareness and understanding of statelessness varied among the different officials interviewed, including among those working for the same organisation. One Greek official, for example, had a good understanding of different stateless profiles and already accurately and sensitively identified some of the challenges in responding to statelessness in the context of refugee arrivals. Others were less well-informed and somewhat dismissive, referring to statelessness as ‘a niche issue’, and one senior official articulated views that can only be described as discriminatory. All acknowledged the frequent mis-recording of nationality status on arrival with some highlighting it as a challenge causing procedural complications further down the line and others perceiving it not to be a problem: 12