Cyprus[/B] supports the Action Plan on migration that will be discussed on Friday at the EU Council of Interior Ministers as it can help address the problem until the Single European Policy on the issue is agreed. However, the Action Plan should not replace the Migration Pact, Interior Minister Nikos Nouris said in response to questions on the issue.
The extraordinary Council in Brussels is being convened in view of the serious problem of increased flows, with the sole focus on the situation in the Central Mediterranean, he explained, as it concerns maritime movements from Africa to central European countries.
Cyprus will be present with the Permanent Representative in Brussels, "with whom there has been full pre-coordination over the past few days and there will be a positioning of the Cypriot side," the Minister said.
"Apart from the fact that we as the Republic of Cyprus clearly support the necessity of implementing the international conventions and agreements on the issues of rescues, what we will demand today is, in addition to the preparation of an Action Plan, which is the purpose of today's extraordinary meeting for the Central Mediterranean, exactly the same should be prepared for the Eastern Mediterranean, which covers Cyprus and Greece. I would like to hope that possibly this will be possible at the regular meeting which will be on 8 December in Brussels," he underlined.
There are very positive elements in the Action Plan proposed by the Commission, which the Minister said Cyprus will support. "I will wait for today's results to see if some corrective actions need to be taken on our side. But the guiding principle and the quintessence of the effort, apart from the rescue issues, is to intensify actions towards third countries so that, on the one hand, there are agreements and, on the other hand, there is strengthening of infrastructure in a number of third countries so that migrants do not have to choose to migrate."
Mr. Nouris clarified that the Action Plan cannot replace the Migration Pact of the Common European Policy, making it clear that this will be Cyprus' position in today's Council.
Moreover, regarding the EU's Common Immigration and Asylum Policy, the big thorn that remains is the need for the Mediterranean countries to have mandatory relocation from the 5 member states in order to unload the asylum systems. "On the contrary, there is also the position of many European countries, which do not accept compulsory relocation and insist on voluntary relocation, which is already in place and which is clearly proven by the numbers that it cannot provide a solution to the problem."
He added that a horizon of 2023 has been set to reach a conclusion on the Pact. "I cannot know whether we will eventually reach a happy conclusion that satisfies at least the five frontline member states in the Mediterranean and it is for this reason that we give importance to these actions, such as the Action Plan today, because we believe that by the time a single policy is implemented, it is possible that these Action Plans could be a lifeline for solving the problems," he noted.
In response to another question on the issue, the Minister said that the issue of Turkey has been raised both at the level of the President of the Republic, that is, at the highest level, and at the level of the Foreign Minister and at his own level. "I can assure you that all the political interventions that need to be made have been made and there is a response on the part of the European Commission and processes are underway." He added that the Republic of Cyprus receives significant support and assistance from the EU "and I have said many times that we are grateful to the EU for the support it gives us." Beyond that, and despite the fact that there have been interventions by the EU towards Turkey, there is no response, he noted.
Nouris said that the requests are very specific. "First, we call for the establishment of a FRONTEX office at Istanbul airport to control flights to occupied Cyprus in order to prevent the illegal channeling of migrants from Istanbul to Tymbou airport and then to the free areas. The second is that we are asking for maritime surveillance of Turkey's southern coast, but this also requires Turkey's consent," he said.
The minister said that the issue of the way the Turkish Cypriots in the occupied territories are managing migration is also raised, "where, under the pretext of the existence of alleged educational institutions, they are receiving a very large number in our occupied territories, In our occupied territories, they welcome a large number of mainly Africans from sub-Saharan Africa, who obviously have nothing to do with students, since from the interviews conducted mainly at the Pournara Centre, it appears that they arrived in occupied Cyprus as students, but then they are channelled to the free areas".
The Minister called on "our fellow Turkish Cypriots to adopt a more responsible attitude regarding the management of the migration issue, because, addressing at least those who want a solution to the Cyprus problem and not those who want a two-state solution, the call is that the existence of such large migratory flows and the demographic alteration of the populations, whether in the occupied territories or even in the free areas, clearly does not help either in solving the national problem".
Source: CNA
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