Interior Minister Nicos Nouris and Justice Minister George Savvides on Monday held talks with Supreme Court officials to exchange views on how to reduce the decision time taken on asylum seeker applications.
“The Government’s political will is there as regards efforts to reduce the time taken (by the authorities) for decisions on asylum seeker applications,” Nouris told journalists on the sidelines of the Union of Municipalities annual general meeting in Nicosia.
Cyprus has the highest number of asylum seeker applications per capita in the EU 28.
Nouris also said that the government is taking steps to address the problems created by the influx of large numbers of irregular migrants into Cyprus.
One measure concerns security in the capital of Nicosia with 24-hour patrols by both the police and national guard, and another concerns the reduction of time taken on asylum-granting decisions.
“We are currently experiencing an unprecedented wave of admission of immigrants and refugees, and therefore the Government is considering ways to address the prevailing state of play,” he said.
He also said that one of the immediate measures that has been taken is to consolidate security in specific areas by running 24-hour patrols in Nicosia on a trial basis.
This measure, which went in effect on Monday, will be re-evaluated at the end of January.
Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/struggling-with-influx-greece-gets-tough-with-asylum-seekers-reuters/
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