Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said that the failure of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council to reach an agreement on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to Schengen, as well as the lack of agreement on forwarding a proposed regulation on the instrumentalisation of migration to the European Parliament are “actions that do not serve European solidarity”, speaking soon after the end of the first day of the JHA Council in Brussels.
“Today was not the best day for European solidarity,” Nouris said. “The decision not to allow Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen area, but even more so the reluctance of a number of member states to promote the regulation on the instrumentalisation of migration to the European Parliament, are actions that do not serve European solidarity,” he noted.
“In particular regarding the issue of the instrumentalisation regulation, an extremely important regulation for Cyprus, is that once again Turkey is left beyond reproach and that is something which is of particular concern to us”, Nouris explained.
“I hope that the decision to continue negotiations, which will obviously take place during the Swedish Presidency, will provide the opportunity for a number of Member States to change their position and push this regulation forward,” he stressed.
Nouris thanked the Czech Presidency for its strong support for Cypriot positions.
During the discussions regarding Schengen, Cyprus was represented by Justice Minister Stephi Drakou, who will also represent Cyprus on the second day of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Friday.
Source: Cyprus News Agency