Cyprus on “very good path” to managing migration issues, interior minister says

The ministries of justice and the interior are interdependent and must work together to manage migration issues, Justice Minister Anna Koukkides-Procopiou said on Tuesday.

She was speaking after a meeting on the matter convened by Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou, which was also attended by other officials including the chief of police and the general directors of the two ministries.

Ioannou told reporters that he purpose of the meeting was “to coordinate matters of cooperation between the two ministries on migration”.

The agenda included the proposal for the creation of a deputy ministry of immigration with the involvement of the immigration services, the better management of migrant reception centres, and the role of border patrol guards.

The interior minister said that the goal is to submit the bill on the deputy ministry to parliament by the beginning of June, adding that so far the plan has followed the set timeframes.

He added that although all the individual issues related to the bill have been agreed upon, there are various outstanding issues that needed to be discussed and resolved.

On the matter of border guards, Ioannou said that during the meeting he was briefed on their training and had a chance to discuss the involvement and the role they will play in the surveillance of the green line.

Individual issues will be resolved in another meeting next week, he said.

Referring to the returns office, he noted that “it is playing an essential role in voluntary migrant returns”.

Nevertheless, high goals have been set which will be achieved with some further reinforcement, he added.

“We have discussed with both the minister and the chief of police more ways for the authorities to communicate, so that we can increase returns and reduce flows,” he said.

 

Koukkides-Procopiou spoke of a “common goal” in her own statements, saying that “There is interdependence between the two ministries, therefore it is very important to be aligned and share a common philosophy in dealing with a very important issue, such as immigration”.

Describing the meeting as productive, she said that “many others will follow, until we end up with the creation of the deputy ministry for immigration.

“As the ministry of justice, and certainly speaking on behalf of the police, we are always at the disposal of the interior ministry for the operational issues arising from the government’s immigration policy,” she said.

“And I am optimistic that because the communication channels are open, the relationship is productive, we will reach our admittedly high and difficult goals,” she added. “When there is cooperation, everything can become possible”.

Asked how the flows will be reduced and how the procedures for examining asylum applications will be shortened, Ioannou replied that this will be possible with a “combination of measures”.

The surveillance of the green line will be a deterrent measure, that will also help in the arrest of traffickers, he said.

Saying a lot of irregular migration is instrumentalised by Turkey, Ioannou pointed out that 95 per cent of irregular immigrants come by air from Istanbul to the occupied territories and then pass through to government-controlled areas.

He also mentioned his trip to Brussels last week, where he got to discuss and submit proposals for the Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean.

“It was conveyed to me with pleasure that there is mutual understanding, at least in terms of the actions we propose and what they were working on,” he said, describing the development as “very good news”.

In relation to the timeframes for the implementation or publication of the Action Plan, he said that “the aim is to do this at the next assembly which is in June, but this will also depend on the outcome of the elections in Turkey”.

The minister reiterated that he is investing in the action plan, that there is an understanding with the EU and that he hopes for its immediate implementation.

Ioannou told reporters that 27 new asylum application examiners have started work, as had been previously announced.

He added that on May, 16 more will be hired by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).

“In short, the examiners will be doubled, so we are already able to process a much larger number of asylum applications from today,” he said.

Referring to the appeals to the Administrative Court, he added that after consultation with the president of the Supreme Court, some additional arrangements have been made and the rate of examination has actually increased there as well.

“At the moment they are examining many more applications than they are accepting, so they are able to look at ones that were pending,” he explained.

Ending on an optimistic note, the minister said that “We are on a very good path. We have already taken measures that were also a pre-election commitment of the president, and they are being implemented”.