A NUMBER of EU nationals who went to either obtain or renew their Cyprus ID cards over the past week got a bit of a shock when they were told they could not.
That was bad enough, but when they asked why, they were given no reason because officials at district offices and citizens advice bureaus did not themselves know why. They were just sent a circular from the migration service of the interior ministry, a section of the government everyone knows has little regard for the rights and needs of foreigners – including EU nationals – living here.
This newspaper managed to catch up this week with the official in charge who explained that EU nationals with Cyprus IDs were causing problems at the airport when they tried to travel with the cards.
Under EU rules, a national of another member state can only use an ID card issued by their own government. Essentially it means that only Cypriots can travel within the bloc with Cyprus-issued ID cards.
It is a fair point to do something about an issue that is causing a problem, especially at the airport.
But is the answer really to introduce an entirely new form of ID cards or ‘resident’ cards to get around the problem?
On top of that the fact that they did not tell anyone about the axing of the cards, causing people to worry about how they would carry out their daily business without an ID card, was unacceptable and showed the disdain the state has for our EU compatriots.
And despite all that, the move is unlikely to solve the airport problem in the short to medium term as there will still be thousands of people out there with existing Cyprus ID cards that have not yet expired.
Why could the government not just do one or two of several very simple things to stop EU nationals using their Cyprus IDs to travel…telling them comes to mind.
In addition to organising an information campaign with the embassies of the other EU member states on the island, the government could put up a sign at the airport, issue a notice to travel agents and airlines for their websites or tickets or even send a letter to ID card holders informing them.
All of these options would have been cheaper than having to introduce an entirely new card system when the time comes. Of course the simplest method of all would have been to print a line on the cards themselves – in the native language of the applicant if necessary – simply saying: ‘This card cannot be used for travel within the EU’.
They could also be told verbally when they go to pick up the card but why take the easy option when you can make it more difficult for everyone?
