Ioannou to inform EU counterparts on need to increase migrant returns

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou will outline the need to increase migrant returns at an EU ministerial meeting on Monday.

According to a ministry statement, Ioannou departs for Ghent, Belgium later on Sunday to attending the meeting, which will focus on asylum and migration.

The meeting is being organised as part of the Belgian EU Presidency.

The 27 ministers responsible for migration issues will discuss the implementation of the asylum and migration pact, and best practices of national strategies for managing migration will be presented by some of the countries.

At the invitation of the organisers, Ioannou will analyse the policy implemented by the Republic of Cyprus to increase migrant returns.

He will discuss the package of measures adopted which have resulted in an increase in the overall number of returns, which ranks Cyprus first among the EU member states in terms of returns per population.

In 2023, an increase of 66 per cent was recorded in total migrant returns compared to 2022, while in the first quarter of 2024, the figures remain positive, with 1,000 more departures compared to the same period in 2023.

According to official data, in 2022 total asylum applications came to 21,565 – dropping to 11,617 in 2023. In addition, last year the number of asylum applicants from African countries declined to 2,607 from 9,384 in 2022.

But at the same time there was a steep rise in asylum applicants hailing from Syria. In 2022 they numbered 4,088, shooting up to 6,148 in 2023.

Ioannou returns to Cyprus on Tuesday.