Tuesday, April 19, 2022

FOUR TARGETS TO STEM MIGRATORY FLOWS

 Filenews 19 April 2022



A series of measures was decided today, which was chaired by the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace, on the subject of migration.

In his statements after the meeting, the Government Spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, stressed that political asylum seekers currently account for 5% of the population of the Republic of Cyprus, while in all frontline countries of the EU the corresponding percentage does not exceed 1%.

At the same time, the Government Spokesman said that the meeting concerned "the continuing increased migratory flows which are mainly due to their instrumentalization by Turkey, aiming at the demographic alteration of the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus and have led to an unprecedented number of political asylum seekers.

As a result of the meeting, a series of measures were decided, aiming at:

1) the prevention of entry into the areas under the control of the Republic of Cyprus of irregular migrants,

2) the tightening of measures to combat undeclared work;

3) addressing overcrowding in shelters or central prisons,

4) the continuation of efforts towards the EU so that as soon as possible there will be central policies on the part of Brussels for the return of irregular migrants to safe countries.

A number of other measures and actions that will alleviate the problems created by ongoing flows, such as, for example, the observed increase in crime, were also discussed.

In addition, according to Marios Pelekanos, the Police will intensify checks on unsuitable premises in which overcrowded migrants live, as well as measures concerning communities in which overcrowded immigrants congregate.

The President of the Republic gave instructions to categorise the various measures and where and where it is necessary to submit proposals for legislative regulation".

Asked if specific measures that the Government intends to take to prevent the illegal influx of migrants from the occupied territories were discussed, Mr. Pelekanos said that "there are measures that are already being taken. As you know it is the issue of physical barriers, there is the issue of electronic monitoring that is being routed and it is expected that before the end of this year the installation of the system will begin and the issue of setting up a green line surveillance unit. These are issues that were discussed during today's meeting and were briefed on the developments that arise."

Asked how to decongest the shelters, the Spokesperson said that "it can be done in two ways. One is the movement of population from these structures to other places. A similar measure has already been taken in the past few weeks. At the same time as reducing flows, if it is achieved, it will be possible to better manage the shelters."

When asked if the chances of EU assistance to Cyprus in terms of migration flows are reduced, due to the developments in Ukraine and the migratory flows from the country that the EU is called upon to manage, the Representative said that "with the developments that arise after the Russian invasion, we now have to deal with the flows of refugees from Ukraine. The resilience of the systems at European level is therefore under even greater pressure. But we are called upon, and this is what we have to do, to manage both issues at the same time, always in cooperation with the EU."

Asked, he said that "we are in constant contact with the EU, with which we have only recently signed a memorandum of understanding, and we believe that the Union will substantially fulfil what we have agreed in order to help Cyprus address this issue".

When asked about the requests from Cyprus to the EU in relation to the shelters, the Representative said that "there is no conclusion to these consultations that are taking place with the EU - it is the issue of Pournaras and the issue of the pre-removal centre. There is no specific development that we can mention at the moment. There is optimism that we will be able to reach an agreement with the EU."

In another question, the Spokesperson said that regarding the issue of physical obstacles to prevent flows from the occupied territories, there is room to increase this measure in order to cover other areas, noting that this is something that is being considered.

Regarding the issue of electronic monitoring, the installation of the system has not begun, Mr. Pelekanos said, adding that it is a measure that will be added to the existing ones, as well as that of the establishment of a green line surveillance unit, something on which a decision has been taken by the Council of Ministers and the relevant bill will be forwarded to the House of Representatives.