EC to fund migration infrastructure in Cyprus

The European Commission has announced it will be funding new projects to support the reception, asylum process and repatriation of migrants in Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Poland.

The total funding for all countries amounts to 171 million euros and is intended for national authorities as well as international organizations.

The support to Cyprus will go to the construction of accommodation and pre-departure centers in the Menoyia area, in Larnaka.

The projects to be funded were selected through a competitive call launched at the beginning of 2022 to fund projects in the Member States that are under increasing pressure, under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, according to the Commission’s press release.

The financial support to international organizations in Greece will contribute to improving the quality of protection assistance to asylum seekers hosted within the reception system. It will have a particular focus on individualized management of people being in a situation of vulnerability, as well as on providing support for education to the school-aged refugee children in Greece.

In Spain, it will be dedicated to the reinforcement of the capacity of the reception system in Cueta and in the Canary Islands, mitigating the overload stemming from increased migratory pressure.

The project of Italy will focus on strengthening the capacity of the reception system from arrival to all phases of reception, to protect and care for the most vulnerable refugees such as children and women.

The award to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Poland will focus on strengthening a rights-based and protection-sensitive approach to the provision of direct assistance and improving return procedures.