Minister of Justice and Public Order Anna Koukkidi-Prokopiou, who is in Brussels for the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, made the following statement to the media on the sidelines of the Council's proceedings:
"I participated today in the Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting in Brussels.
The issues addressed in today's part of the meeting were particularly important as the focus was on security. Both in terms of threats to the security of each Member State coming from outside the borders, but also how we can safeguard the security of each citizen from internal threats.
I am particularly pleased because today we announced the launch of the SIS, the Schengen Information System. I particularly welcome the fact that the Republic of Cyprus will be able to have access to this system from the end of July, after years of efforts by all the authorities of the Republic.
This database will allow us to have full access to a common database of the other Member States of the European Union, which will facilitate the cooperation of our own authorities, whether it is the police, customs or the immigration service. This means that we will be in a better position to identify and prevent risks to the security of our citizens in a timely manner as it will allow us, among other things, to exchange information with other Member States on issues such as wanted persons, illegal residents on EU territory, persons involved in terrorist organisations, but also vulnerable persons at risk of abduction, as is the case with minor children. The system will also be able to record fingerprints or other biometric data of suspected criminals so that they can be immediately identified and arrested before they enter the country.
Another issue of particular interest to Cyprus, which we discussed today, was how to safeguard free movement within the EU, given the migratory pressures faced by Member States. We focused particularly on ways in which we can improve the visa policy for third country citizens, or even citizens of specific countries, who are exempt from the visa requirement based on criteria, but without this creating either migration risks or a risk to the security of Cypriot citizens.
In terms of the external dimension of security, we discussed the external challenges arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, its consequences in the immediate region and what exactly this means for
