The EU has a unique opportunity as it implements the Migration and Asylum Pact to show that cooperation leads to better results than isolation, International Organization for Migration (IOM) director-general Amy Pope said on Saturday.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency during her two-day visit to Cyprus on Thursday and Friday, she referred to the very constructive relationship between the IOM mission in Cyprus and the Cypriot government on migration management.

She stressed that European governments must show they have plans and strategies to handle irregular migration, while enabling skilled individuals to enter legally via visas.

Pope said Cyprus is a country where IOM’s mission has expanded significantly over the past two years, reflecting the island’s growing importance in the migration situation.

Her visit, she said, coincides with the start of Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the EU, as ministers prepare for the approaching deadline to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

“The primary objective for me was to ensure that we remain fully aligned with our Member States as they address this challenge, and then to discuss irregular migration and how ministries can work together across Europe to combat human trafficking networks and ensure that migration is safer, legal and works well for everyone,” she explained.

Pope also highlighted the agency’s collaboration with the Cypriot government on unaccompanied minors as a key factor in strengthening ties.

The primary focus, she said, was addressing the arrival of “quite a significant number” of adolescent boys from Syria, by working with authorities “in a fair and humane way, ensuring that vulnerable groups were identified, protection needs were identified, and the logistical management itself.”

This partnership has since expanded, Pope said, with the government advancing migrant integration, vocational and skills training, while “trying to find ways to manage the migration in a way that is responsible to the people of Cyprus”.

She urged states not to underestimate migration’s far-reaching impacts beyond mere population movements, such as influencing political outcomes and government changes.

The EU, she said, holds a unique opportunity amid the migration pact’s rollout “to demonstrate that through cooperation it can achieve better results than through isolation.

“This is a message that is crucial at this time and that will allow the EU to become stronger, have more influence and, ultimately, offer more to the people of Europe,” she concluded.