Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has praised the European Commission’s decision to award 72 million euros for projects to support the reception, asylum and return systems in Cyprus. In particular the EC on Thursday awarded a total of €171 million for projects to support the reception, asylum and return systems in Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy and Poland.
“This is the result of a competitive call launched in the beginning of 2022 to fund projects in Member States under pressure, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. The support to Cyprus will go to the construction of an accommodation and pre-departure centres in the Menoyia area, in Larnaka”, a press release by the EC reads.
In a written statement issued on Friday the Minister notes once again that Cyprus is faced with a huge influx of undocumented migrants who, mostly, arrive illegally to the Republic from Turkey via the Green Line.
He said that the asylum system in Cyprus has long reached its capacity and the authorities have drafted a new strategy since January 2021 in order to tackle the problem. In this framework, the Ministry has put into effect a three pillar project which aims at rapidly reviewing asylum applications, to halt the illegal crossing via the Green Line and to speed up the returns.
Nouris noted that the Commission’s decision is extremely important and will grant Cyprus with the tools and mechanisms to better tackle the issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency