Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou leaves today, Wednesday, 8 March 2023, for Brussels, where he will take part in the Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs that will take place on 9-10 March 2023.
The Internal Affairs Council will deal with issues related to the internal and external dimension of European migration policy.
The Minister of Interior will put before the 27 the serious problems that Cyprus has been facing in recent years in relation to the prevention, deterrence and management of the clearly disproportionate migratory pressures we face.
Taking into account the fact that in 2022 migratory flows are unprecedented and the response capacities of the Services have been exhausted, Mr Ioannou will call on the partners to move from a theoretical approach of solidarity to more practical solutions. In this context, he will put on the table the evaluation of the voluntary relocation mechanism, which has not worked, and its replacement with a more effective and, above all, binding system that will provide substantial relief for frontline Member States.
Among other things, the Minister will re-emphasise the urgent need for a targeted Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean region, with an emphasis on the role and responsibilities of Turkey, and will call for measures on the part of the EU to drastically limit the systematic promotion of flows through the occupied territories.
At the same time, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou will stress the need for action at EU level for the immediate conclusion of new and effective implementation of existing Readmission Agreements, combining the migration issue with the broader policy of economic assistance to third countries in the context of the European neighbourhood.
The Minister of Interior returns to Cyprus on Friday afternoon, 10 March.
(EFYs)
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