High on the agenda of both Nicosia and the European Union in recent days is immigration.
The Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, is holding bilateral talks in European countries with the aim of re-evaluating the status of Syria, while the government simultaneously pushes for an economic support package from the EU to Lebanon to curb migration flows towards Cyprus.
Meanwhile, in the EU, 2023 has seen an increase in both asylum applications and irregular migrant entries.
Today, the European Parliament is voting on the new Migration Pact, a development that inevitably affects Cyprus as well.
Konstantinos Ioannou’s contacts in European countries regarding Syrian migrants
With the aim of the Cypriot initiative to re-evaluate the status of Syrian regions and to declassify specific areas based on current realities, Minister of Interior Konstantinos Ioannou is visiting Denmark today, followed by the Czech Republic tomorrow and Greece on Friday.
His talks are expected to focus on practical ways to prevent Syrian nationals from automatically receiving subsidiary protection status in any country.
Initiative for a Lebanon support package similar to Egypt’s
In addressing external factors exacerbating the migration crisis in Cyprus, Nicosia is promoting an initiative to prepare a support package for Lebanon, similar to that of Egypt.
The economic support is envisioned as an incentive to halt illegal migration of immigrants to Cyprus.
What does the Egypt package entail?
In early March, during a period of great turmoil in the Middle East with the focus on the Gaza war, the European Union and Egypt signed a historic agreement in Cairo aiming to restrict migration flows from North Africa.
Ursula von der Leyen and Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi signed a Joint Declaration for a Comprehensive Strategic EU-Egypt Partnership, within which the Commission President announced a new €7.4 billion economic and investment package for Egypt for the next four years.
The implementation of the Comprehensive and Strategic Partnership recognises that Egypt’s stability and prosperity are crucial for the European Union and covers six pillars of mutual interest, one of which pertains to Migration and Mobility.
Egypt is pressured both by flows from African countries and at its borders with Gaza, while its economy is also affected by the crisis in the Suez.
Commission President highlighted that the EU and Egypt already maintain very good cooperation in the migration sector, adding that the EU will invest at least €200 million from the package to make this cooperation even more effective, emphasizing Egypt’s essential role in controlling irregular migration from Egypt.
The Cypriot government expects that a similar support package promoting stability in Lebanon could equally contribute to the issue of controlling the smuggling of irregular migrants from the country to Cyprus.
New Migration Pact to be voted on
In another development on the issue, the legislative package for Migration is put to vote today in the European Parliament’s Plenary, with the already agreed texts aiming to improve cooperation among European states and strengthen the EU’s response in crisis situations.
The Pact includes a new framework for an integrated asylum and migration policy, aiming to promote solidarity and fair distribution of responsibilities, including updated rules on criteria and mechanisms for determining which member state is responsible for examining an international protection application.
In general terms, member states will be able to choose between resettling asylum seekers on their territory, financial contributions, or providing operational and technical support to member states facing migration pressures.
Additionally, special rules will exist for crisis situations, while existing rules for reception standards for asylum seekers will be updated.
The amended recognition rules will establish uniform standards across the EU for recognising individuals submitting an international protection application, as well as their rights, while a faster common procedure will be promoted throughout the EU.
It is noted that even if the new Migration and Asylum Pact is approved today by the European Parliament, the details of its implementation remain largely pending.
How Cyprus is affected
Regarding how Nicosia views the new Migration Pact, it is noted that the Ministry of Interior generally considers the new Pact to be moving in the right direction.
However, Cyprus’s demand for mandatory asylum seeker relocations remains, as voluntary relocations are not expected to be as supportive for Eastern Mediterranean countries facing immense pressures, such as Cyprus.
Asked about the issue last December, the Minister of Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, deemed it significant that the agreement now recognises solidarity among states regarding migration management.
He explained that during crisis periods, as was the case in 2015-2016, relocations would take place, with assistance provided by other countries. He further highlighted that through the recognition of mandatory solidarity, it is foreseen that frontline receiving countries, like Cyprus, in cases where there are disproportionate numbers of migrants, will be able to proceed with relocations.
He then argued, “The ideal scenario would be for these relocations to be mandatory. Unfortunately, they are not. Other member states are given the option, instead of accepting to host legal migrants in their country, to pay a set amount of €20,000 per person. We need to see exactly how the mechanism will work for approximately 100,000 people per year across all member states, how the distribution among states will be handled, etc.”
“For Cyprus, the ideal would be for relocations to be mandatory, as it is not an issue of financial assistance, given that we already receive economic support from the Union. For us, mandatory relocations would be essential,” he reiterated.
Ioannou, after characterising the Pact as a significant step in the right direction, referred to the measures proposed in it, indicating that some of them are already being implemented in Cyprus.
Specifically, he mentioned provisions for the speedy examination of asylum applications, which are now completed within three months, noting that there is still much more to be done.
