Cyprus as a front-line country expects substantive support by the EU in the face of soaring migrant flows, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides told a gathering of EU leaders in Vienna, Austria.
According to a written statement issued by Deputy Government Spokesman, Yiannis Antoniou, Christodoulides also reiterated the need for the designation of certain areas in Syria as safe, as well as the financial support to Lebanon for an effective management of the migration problem.
He also focused on the issue of swift migrant returns and the tackling of the primary reasons that trigger migration flows.
Cyprus is facing increasing flows of Syrian irregular migrants from Lebanon with hundreds arriving in the last days. President Christodoulides has discussed the issue with EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and travelled recently to Beirut for talks with the authorities of the neighbouring country.
The President took part in a dinner hosted by the President of the European Council Charles Michel and th
e Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in the presence of the leaders of Denmark, Malta and Slovenia with the view to discussing the EU’s strategic agenda in the next five years.
According to Antoniou, during the discussion President Christodoulides “stressed the need for the strengthening of the EU defence and security through joint actions and the development of programmes and capabilities.”
The President also referred to shipping, noting that this sector is of high strategic significance for the EU as it represents 80% of the EU trade and 90% globally while 40 of the global fleet is controlled by European ship owners.
On the issue of the economy, he underscored that EU competitiveness should be bolstered through the deepening of the EU single market, strengthening of services and reducing the administrative burden especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, Antoniou said.
The President returns to Cyprus on Saturday.
Source: Cyprus News Agency