Filenews 12 May 2023
The situation with migration is clearly better this year, but the Ministry of Interior is not complacent, as they intensify efforts to repatriate 1,000 irregular migrants per month.
After the tragic picture of recent years, this year there are almost halved flows this year compared to last year, while returns of migrants to their countries, either voluntary or forced, are also increased. The decrease is attributed to the measures taken and mainly to the acceleration of the procedures for examining asylum applications but also to the control of benefits, while it is expected that now with the improvement of the weather, it will be seen whether the decrease recorded is temporary or permanent.
According to the latest data of the Ministry of Interior regarding asylum applications, in the first four months of 2023 3.825 applications were submitted compared to 7.091 applications in the first four months of 2022, ie this year it is almost half. The months of January and February show a decrease in applications compared to last year (1,503 in both months) while March showed an alarming upward trend with 1,678 applications. April saw a decrease in applications to 644.
At the same time, returns to their countries have almost doubled this year. This year until April more than 2,700 migrants returned, while in 2020 the number of total returns was 1,272 and in 2021 2,320. Over 2022,7 returns were made in 680. In fact, if one compares this year's data with the same period last year, i.e. the period January-April, one can easily see that migrant returns have almost doubled, since in the first four months of 2022 returns were 1,384.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou's goal is to achieve the return of approximately 1,000 people per month through internal manipulations in cooperation with the relevant EU agencies.
In addition, it should be noted that efforts to relocate applicants for international protection intensified and reached 362 this year, with the countries of acceptance being Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and France. The Vatican has also accepted the relocation of 60 migrants in 2021 and 14 recently. Pope Francis himself, in a recent interview on migration, said: "I believe that migration is a problem that Europe must take into its own hands, because there are five countries that suffer the most: Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy and Spain, the Mediterranean countries where the majority disembark. And if Europe doesn't take care of it with a fair distribution of migrants, the problem will only be for these countries," he said.
