Our View: Hard to see what migration deal will mean in practical terms

Many fine words were spoken after the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on administering the migration problem in the presidential palace. The MoU between Cyprus and the EU, was described as ‘historic,’ a ‘landmark’ while the day of the signing was labelled ‘significant and emblematic’ by deputy president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, who said “we are turning the page on the administering of a problem that has taken on very big dimensions and creates a disproportionate burden of administration in Cyprus.”

Three basic “axes of action” were envisaged by the memorandum. The first related to the sources and starting points of the migration flows, something that required immediate action and Schinas said he would personally undertake. The second involved providing assistance to the Republic for strengthening the structures for the reception of migrants and administering the migration flows. The third axis envisages the adoption of “a reinforced wave of returns” of those migrants, who have no grounds to be under the legal protection of the EU.

The third point is an EU type of compromise with the Cyprus government, which had wanted to suspend the acceptance of asylum applications until the situation became more manageable. This was one of the proposals included in a letter sent to the president of European Commission last October by President Anastasiades. This has been ruled out, but the EU would help strengthen the structures for the reception of migrants, which would probably involve providing more funding and technocratic support for dealing with the large numbers of migrants currently in Cyprus.

There was a certain vagueness in the measures. How, for example, will the wave of returns be reinforced in practical terms? Asylum applications would still have to be examined by the authorities as per EU directives, with the possibility of being dragged through the courts, with all the delays this entails, not to mention the repatriation procedures that seem rather complicated. Even on the issue of tackling the starting points of the migrants, Schinas seemed rather optimistic in pinning his hopes on the “positive predisposition of Turkey and Turkish airlines in cooperating with us.” He will seek Turkey’s cooperation on a visit to Istanbul next month, he said, but whether he succeeds is another matter.

We should not be too critical of the European Commission because it has at least acknowledged the existence of the migration problem Cyprus has been facing, but only time will tell whether the MoU will make a real difference. We should also bear in mind that the EU has still not agreed on the pact for migration and asylum, which has been on the table for some time now, because there is a divergence of views among member-states.