Interior Minister Nicos Nouris told CNA that the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union Internal Affairs Council has decided to activate the directive to protect Ukrainians fleeing to the EU, but that there is also an issue regarding security and the proper management of the EU’s external borders.
Speaking to CNA after the end of the two day Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels, Nouris said that among the Ukrainians who have already crossed into European territory “there is a number of people who should not have crossed the border” but added “at the moment what is most important is the humanitarian dimension of the issue”.
“Europe is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, and of course the Ukrainian people are experiencing a much worse crisis” Nouris said, noting that Europe has shown solidarity in the same way as it showed solidarity during the crisis at the Belarusian border with the EU, as well as that the EU “is here to defend the interests of the Ukrainian people”.
The Justice and Home Affairs Council “has taken specific decisions in addition to the sanctions that have already been decided, including the activation of a specific directive for the protection of Ukrainians,” Nouris noted.
“However, along with the protection of Ukrainians there is also an issue regarding the security of the European Union, and it is for this reason that there is a particular focus on how the EU`s external borders are managed, particularly in the countries neighbouring Ukraine,” he added.
“It is well known that among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have already crossed into the EU’s territory, there are several who should not have crossed the border,” according to Nouris.
“Nevertheless, at the moment what is most important is the humanitarian dimension of the issue” the Minister stressed, adding that “this is the lens through which we are approaching the issue”, and underlined that “we have activated all necessary mechanisms to also ensure security in the European Union”.
Meeting with Belgian Minister on DR Congo
On Friday, the Interior Minister also met the Belgian Minister responsible for asylum and migration Sammy Mahdi. Their discussion focused on cooperation between the two countries on arranging flights to return citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo to their country of origin.
As noted in the statement, the first such flight, jointly organised by Belgium and Cyprus has already taken place, with the two Ministers agreeing to organise more at regular intervals. The aim, according to a statement from Nouris’ office, is to help Cyprus handle the recently increased number of arrivals from the country.
MoU signed with FRONTEX
Regarding the memorandum of understanding which Nouris signed with the executive director of FRONTEX, the Minister’s office said that this was an agreement to “increase returns of those people whose asylum applications have been rejected, which is one of the most important objectives for the Ministry of the Interior in the context of the effort to relieve the country of the burden created from increased flows of migration”.
Nouris thanked the executive director of FRONTEX, Fabrice Leggeri, for the agency’s support to Cyprus, and announced the creation of a Returns Office in the Ministry of the Interior “which aims to maximise the use of the assistance that FRONTEX provides, in order to simplify and accelerate procedures”.
Source: Cyprus News Agency