Cyprus and Austria to cooperate on migration issues

Cyprus and Austria will submit proposals next week on their cooperation on illegal migration and relocation matters, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris stated on Friday after meeting his counterpart Gerhard Karner in Vienna.

According to an official statement the two ministers reviewed their current immigration situations and discussed common interests, since the two countries top the list of EU member states for receiving asylum seekers.

Issues still pending from the European pact on asylum and migration, had been discussed, Nouris said, ahead of the upcoming informal meeting of the council of ministers of internal affairs in Stockholm.

The ministry statement added that the ministers had raised the need for significant extended intervention by the European commission itself, and to this end specific proposals will be prepared and submitted next week, regarding cooperation with third countries, returns and voluntary relocation.

Another important point of agreement, Nouris said, is the interoperability of their security systems for external borders and entry visas, which will be rolled out in the coming weeks.