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Dear Ministers, dear friends,
Allow me, first of all, to
thank Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and the Spanish Government for the
initiative to organize this meeting of the Mediterranean Ministers of
Migration and Internal Affairs and for the great hospitality.
Following on the successful
meeting in Athens, we had very fruitful discussions with my fellow Ministers
especially in relation to our common views on how the EU should develop a
more comprehensive
migration and asylum policy, tackle irregular migration and effectively enhance returns.
Preventing irregular migration at its roots, before reaching the Union’s
external borders, will inevitably benefit the frontline member states, which
face the largest burden of migratory flows, but the EU as a whole as well.
We very much regret the fact
that, despite the
introduction of decisive measures taken on a national level,
Cyprus continues to receive high numbers of irregular arrivals, mainly from
Turkey and via the occupied areas and the Green Line, as a direct result of migrant
instrumentalization.
Only until the beginning of
September of 2021, Cyprus
received more than 8.000 first time applications, in a small
country with population
less than a million, and with Syrians
being the top nationality in asylum application.
Allow me to express my
appreciation towards my 4 colleagues to include a clear reference in
our joint statement, in relation to the
particularities and migratory challenges arising from the
Green Line.
No matter how much effort we
make, no matter how many resources are made available, unless there is a
coordinated, fair and balanced EU migration policy based on solidarity, we
will continue to suffer from these pressures with all the consequences for
both the frontline Member States and the Union itself.
And let’s be honest. It seems we will need to go a long way until we will be able to
reach an agreement on a new, effective, common framework, namely the new
Pact, while we experience further deterioration of migration.
The MED5, being the MS facing
the majority of irregular influx agreed to request the Commission, in parallel to the negotiations
to the Pact, to proceed urgently with these 3 pillars:
- Border management in
order to limit further deterioration of illegal migration.
- Secondly,
bilateral
agreements between the EU and key third countries, with
a view to create robust cooperation in the area of returns.
- Thirdly,
the EU needs to promote returns
to safe third countries, preferably on a commonly agreed
list.
The MED5 have already shown
their solidarity to other Member States affected by migratory pressure, such
as Lithuania, Poland and Latvia. We therefore expect the same from our EU
counterparts to defend
ourselves from phenomena of instrumentalization of migrants.
On the critical developments in Afghanistan, it is clear the EU needs
to avert potential mass migratory movements from Afghanistan towards Member
States. The EU
should finance and assist the creation of sustainable reception and hosting structures,
in areas neighbouring with Afghanistan, with the aim of creating safe hubs
for people in need.
We will continue to engage in constructive discussions with a view
to create a new, fair and robust asylum and migration system. In
view of the EU Home Affairs meeting on the 8th of October we
should emphasize once again both the
need for fair responsibility sharing, as well as the need for the aforementioned
effective measures to manage migratory pressure.
I would like to thank again my
fellow ministers and wish a safe return to our home countries.
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