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The Minister of Interior Mr. Constantinos Ioannou participated yesterday in the Informal Council of Ministers of Interior Affairs of the European Union, in Logrono, Spain. The Informal Council takes place between 20-21 July, under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Home Affairs Ministers of the Member States had the opportunity to discuss the next steps for the completion of the Immigration and Asylum Pact package, in particular the proposal for a regulation on crisis management and the instrumentalisation of migration.
Furthermore, they exchanged views on the external dimension of migration, with an emphasis on strengthening cooperation with countries of origin. "Having to deal with an international phenomenon", the Minister added, "targeted measures should be adopted by the Union, in the context of the external dimension, with the main objective of reducing and preventing migratory inflows, so that they can be managed by the first host Member States."
After explaining that an effective response to irregular migration is imperative through an integrated and coherent approach, the Minister stressed that the effort should be coordinated The aim, he added, is to build relationships and provide incentives for these third countries to act as partners of Europe in this effort.
In this context, he underlined the importance of action plans and, by extension, the need for a rapid completion of the specific Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean, indicating that the power of the Member States under the umbrella of the Union is multiplying and therefore our ambition should be for the EU to take initiatives institutionally.
In the framework of the Council's work, the Minister of Interior met with his Greek counterpart, Minister of Immigration and Asylum Mr. Dimitris Kairidis, with whom they discussed the strengthening of cooperation between Greece and Cyprus on migration issues, as well as the promotion of positions in the framework of MED5 cooperation, as frontline Mediterranean member states facing increased migration flows.
The two Ministers pledged to meet in a broader format with officials next September, laying the groundwork for the launch of a series of contacts between the two Ministries aimed at closer cooperation in the areas of asylum and migration.
(EFYs/MB/EXP)
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