Cyprus’ solutions to its migration flow problem – EU Commission answer

See question(s) : E-002578/2023

EN
E-002578/2023
Answer given by Ms Johansson on behalf of the European Commission (31.10.2023)
The Commission is aware of Cyprus’ decision of 19 July 2023 that applicants for international protection, who arrived in Cyprus from 1 January 2023 onwards, will not be included as eligible candidates for the voluntary relocation program under the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (VSM)¹. The participating Member States decide which candidates they include in this voluntary scheme.
The Pact on Asylum and Migration² was designed to create a fairer, more efficient, and sustainable asylum and migration system in the EU, including through a new solidarity framework and improving the responsibility criteria and their applicability. Both the European Parliament and the Council have mandates that offer the foundation for negotiations between them.

Cyprus has steadily increased the numbers of returns of irregular migrants as a result of an enhanced coordinated approach at national level, including with support of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the Commission, which are continuously working with Member States to improve the effectiveness of their return systems.

As regards smuggling of migrants, under the EU Treaties³, the Cypriot law enforcement and judicial authorities are competent to investigate and prosecute migrant smuggling. The Commission is providing operational and financial support within the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats⁴. Since April 2019, Cyprus is also supported by a team of Guest Officers from the EU Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).