EC to support Cyprus over asylum applications

Migration and increased flows of asylum seekers were at the centre of a meeting on Tuesday between Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides and the European Commission’s Director General of the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Paraskevi Michou.

In his statements after the meeting, Petrides said it was decided to work together to draw up an action plan, with the help of the European Commission, to strengthen the procedures for Cyprus in its examination of asylum applications.

In the first months of 2019, asylum applications exceeded 1,000 per month, highlighting the problem of incoming flows through the north of Cyprus, a situation Petrides has recently described as “worrying” and had sought the help of Brussels.

Petrides said the increased flows indicated the need for the creation of an additional reception centre for asylum seekers. Cyprus also requires access to information systems on matters relating to state security in view of the prevention of dangers arising from radicalisation.

“We discussed a number of issues of a technocratic nature. We need help,” he said.

He expressed his thanks to Michou because, he said, “we really need know-how and as much administrative assistance as we can get to deal with this phenomenon, which is unprecedented for Cyprus.”

Michou said she had come to Cyprus “see how we can help”.

“Of course, you all know that there is a growing flow. You also know that this current flow has a different national structure nowadays so the European Commission and the Directorate-General to which I belong, have the honour of being able to help, and can definitely help,” she said, adding that this could be financial but also practical.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.