Nouris joins EU teleconference on migrants

The increased flow of migrants and asylum seekers into Europe, which has become an issue especially relevant for Cyprus, was discussed by the bloc’s interior ministers on Tuesday, including Nicos Nouris.

The meeting, Promoting our European Way of Life, was held under the auspices of Portugal’s Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita and EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson

It focused on two main areas in the EU’s migration partnership with African partners, namely the management of irregular movements, including border management and return, and new opportunities for legal migration.

Senior officials from the African Union, the European Commission and the European External Action Service, Justice and Home Affairs Agencies, the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also participated.

A total of 7,036 new asylum applications were submitted in 2020 in Cyprus, raising the year’s backlog to nearly 20,000, according by UNHCR official figures.