Filenews 15 October 2022
An informal document with the proposal of the Republic of Cyprus for the modification of the asylum procedure, in order to end the exploitation of migrants and the loss of life at sea, to combat traffickers' networks and to reduce flows, was submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Nouris, in the framework of the Internal Affairs Council of the European Union.
As stated in an announcement by the Ministry, "at today's Internal Affairs Council of the European Union we highlighted Turkey's role in the trafficking of irregular migrants and argued that the assistance of €200,000,000, provided for Turkey for the security of its external borders, should be given only on the condition that:
(a) its compliance with the EU visa programme;
(b) the control of illegal departures from the southern coast of Turkey
(c) the control of transfer passengers from Constantinople to the occupied territories, and
(d) the termination of the issuance of false student visas."
"In addition, we submitted an informal document with our proposal to amend the asylum procedure to end the exploitation of migrants and the loss of life at sea, to combat smugglers' networks and to reduce flows.
The proposal stipulates that asylum applications should be submitted and examined outside the European Union, either in the countries of origin or in the countries through which migrants pass, so that those entitled to protection arrive safely in the European Union, without having to risk their lives being exploited by traffickers," the Ministry said.
It is noted that the Minister of Justice, Stefi Drakou, also referred to the issue of Turkey, who participated in the work of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. She said that Turkey is not taking any measures to deter illegal immigrants and is allowing them to leave its territory for the occupied areas to end up in the Republic of Cyprus through the green line.
According to an announcement by the Ministry of Justice, Ms. Drakou said that "it is imperative that all third countries, including Turkey, comply with their commitments to control migratory flows from their territories and to return those who irregularly end up in European countries through their territories".
