Ioannou: Cyprus is “very concerned” about migratory flows from Syria

Cyprus is very concerned about the unprecedented migratory flows from Syria, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou stressed during a meeting with European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ilva Johansson in Nicosia.

Ioannou said the overall situation in Syria should be reviewed, which Johansson responded "is not an easy task", stressing that "the only way to manage migration in an orderly manner is to do it together".

In statements after the meeting, the Interior Minister said that the meeting with the Commissioner provided an opportunity to review Cyprus' actions for a coherent and holistic response to the challenge of migration.

Ioannou expressed Cyprus' great concern regarding the unprecedented large migratory flows arriving from Syria, saying that Cyprus, as a front-line member state, is called to manage a great number of international protection holders.

“Due to its geographical proximity to Syria, Cyprus is exposed to disproportionately large numbers of illegal migrants arriving from the area, which puts pressure on our reception system”, he said.

He further said that in this regard, “I have reiterated our position that the time has come to, collectively, open the discussion for the re-evaluation of the state of affairs of Syria or at least specific areas in the country, and, subsequently, the protection status of the Syrians”.

He stressed that “we must reconsider the overall situation, based on existing realities and find what is the most balanced way to handle this matter, having in mind the geopolitical developments in the area of Eastern Mediterranean”.

Ioannou noted that the Republic of Cyprus considers migration management as one of its top priorities, pointing out that Cyprus, an island and non-Schengen country, is facing the greatest migration problem amongst the EU member states adding that 5.5% of the population are new asylum applicants or international protection holders.

“I informed the Commissioner about our new approach during the last ten months and most specifically the implementation of a four-pillar strategy, which includes reducing the arrivals, upgrading the infrastructure and facilities, accelerating the application procedures and increasing the returns”, Ioannou said.

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, addressing Ioannou, said that "together with your Authorities and the Commission, you have achieved this huge reduction of the irregular arrivals and the implementation of the Central Med Action Plan, with the impressive increase of returns, which is actually outstanding compared to other member states and is something that others can learn from".

Johansson referred to the current situation in the Middle East with the war between Israel and Hamas, congratulating Cyprus for its the contingency planning to deal with any massive flows.

"We are doing the same on the Commission side and my important message here is: you are not alone. We will stand by you. We do it now and we will do that as well, even if things would change and be more threatening" the Commissioner said.

Asked if the revaluation of the Syria status is something that EU is going to take into consideration, she said that “this is not an easy task. We have discussed this, and we will continue to discuss it further”.

Responding to a question concerning migrant flows and the situation in Lebanon due to the situation in the Middle East, and if there is possibility of funding to Lebanon, as there is for Turkey, Commissioner answered that “there is already a lot of funding to Lebanon and also only two days ago High Representative Vice President Borrell was in Lebanon”. She added that Lebanon is an important partner and EU will continue to support Lebanon.

Invited to comment on the effort to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus to create a maritime humanitarian corridor, Johansson said that the European Union "has clearly shown its strong commitment to provide the necessary humanitarian support, because the situation in Gaza is really terrible and people are suffering and people are being killed. That is why the European Commission has stepped up its financial support."

Asked what her vision for the issue of migration is before the end of the current Commission's mandate, Johansson replied that "we have taken important steps to manage migration in an orderly way and we continue to do so." She stressed that “migration is manageable, but we need to work together, because the only way to manage migration orderly is to do it jointly”.

Asked whether she is satisfied with the behavior of some member states concerning migration and solidarity, she said that if the Commission is not satisfied how member states are complying with the EU acquis, “then we start an infringement procedure and we have quite a few of those”.

(Source: PIO)