Filenews 13 November 2024
The case of Cyprus and other frontline countries is being closely monitored and a contingency plan will be drawn up where necessary, Europol Deputy Executive Director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe said.
According to an announcement by the Parliament, Mr. Lecouffe, was responding to questions raised by MP, Chrysanthos Savvides, during the proceedings of the 15th Meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group (JPSG) of Europol, held within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Director of Europol said that there are five Europol officials in Cyprus and that if necessary their number will be increased.
Specifically, the Cypriot MP asked whether member states are willing to accept a fair redistribution of migrants based on the size of each member state and whether there is the political will on the part of the EU to impose sanctions on Turkey for not implementing the agreement with the EU on the readmission of migrants.
Mr. Savvides stated that "there is no doubt that the migration situation in Cyprus is caused, among other things, by the instrumentalization of migration by Turkey and the channelling of illegal migrants through the occupied areas and the ceasefire line to the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, with serious repercussions on housing, education and the health system in Cyprus."
The Cypriot MP, in his intervention during the debate on the prevention of security threats and the attack on Soligen through the management of illegal immigration, referred to the need to find a European solution to deal with this phenomenon, which he described as a modern Lernaean Hydra.
He added that "the problem is growing more and more because of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza."
On his part, MP Ilias Myrianthous, in his intervention on the issue of combating cybercrime and in particular crimes using artificial intelligence (AI), referred to a recent Europol Report entitled "Threat assessment from organized crime on the Internet".
He said that "there is now concern in the EU about the use of AI by cybercriminals, as millions of victims across the EU in 2023 were targeted by attacks and exploitation on a daily basis online, with the perpetrators of these crimes in many cases being minors."
As the Cypriot MP mentioned, the AI Regulation will enter into force in August 2026 and raised the question of whether law enforcement authorities are equipped with appropriate and sufficient tools, legislation and knowledge to be able to effectively address the ongoing new challenges and threats that take place daily in cyberspace.
In addition, in relation to the establishment of various administrative bodies for the proper implementation of the Regulation, Mr. Myrianthous asked for relevant information, as well as whether there have been any thoughts about the participation of representatives of national parliaments in the monitoring team of the implementation of the Regulation on AI of the European Parliament.
Finally, Mr. Myrianthous wondered if there are EU funding plans for member states to develop AI technologies, citing as an example the US and China, which invested billions in this sector.
CNA
