Ioannou was invited to current the efficient measures being taken
With particular and focused actions, the Republic of Cyprus succeeded in rising the variety of returns of irregular migrants by 66% inside 2023 in comparison with 2022, the Minister of the Inside, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou, underlined immediately. Mr. Ioannou was talking earlier than his fellow European Ministers, as a part of the Ministerial Convention on Asylum and Migration organized by the Belgian Presidency of the EU, in Ghent, the place Cyprus was invited by the organizers to current the efficient measures it’s taking in relation to with the return sector.
In his intervention, Mr. Ioannou analyzed the federal government's coverage to strengthen returns. The Minister of Inside reported that a number of measures had been carried out, specializing in cooperation with Frontex, informing migrants concerning the voluntary return programme, leveraging the EU Solidarity Mechanism for the relocation of migrants to different Member States and strengthening the voluntary return programme. Because the Minister defined, the Republic of Cyprus centered on selling the voluntary return program, introducing monetary incentives to make it extra enticing.
The focused measures, Mr. Ioannou underlined, resulted in a rise within the variety of complete returns by 66%, and voluntary returns by 25%, in comparison with 2022. Equally constructive leads to relation to the elevated variety of returns had been additionally recorded the primary quarter of 2024. Greater than 1,000 returns had been carried out between January and April 2024, which interprets right into a 42% improve in comparison with 2023. This knowledge ranks Cyprus first within the variety of returns, in proportion to inhabitants, among the many Member States of the EU.
Debate on the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum
Through the Summit, the European Fee proceeded with additional evaluation and dedication of the implementation steps of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which ought to be prepared for implementation in June 2026. Particularly, reference was made to the preparation on the a part of Committee of the Joint Plan for the Implementation of the Covenant (JSP), on which the member states will rely within the preparation of their nationwide plans, which is able to document the evaluation of wants and the implementation schedules of the varied insurance policies. The nationwide plans in query might be used for the needs of submitting requests for the absorption of funding from the European Funds and would be the instruments for allocating the accessible assets. As well as, within the context of the assembly, shows had been made by the competent European organizations on immigration and asylum points, in addition to on the way to present help to the member states, by way of the brand new procedures and pillars of the Pact.
Strengthening cooperation with Frontex
On the sidelines of the Summit, the Minister of the Inside had a gathering with the Govt Director of the Frontex Company, Mr. Hans Leijtens, with whom they mentioned methods of additional cooperation, particularly by way of returns. Additionally, Mr. Ioannou and Leijtens exchanged views on issues of strengthening the Group's help in Cyprus.
