Scholz OK's transfer of 500 asylum seekers from Cyprus

Germany's solidarity with Cyprus on the migration issue was conveyed to President Nicos Anastasiades by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who, during their recent meeting in Berlin, expressed his country's intention to receive 500 asylum seekers from Cyprus.

The President of the Republic briefed the German Chancellor on the situation with regard to Cyprus's immigration issue and requested assistance from the EU. Reports claim that during their meeting with Mr. Scholz, President Anastasiades provided the German Chancellor with a dossier of data that, on the one hand, supported Cyprus' position and, on the other, demonstrated Turkey's use of the migration issue as a political football.

The same reports state that Chancellor Scholz called the migration issue a European issue and pledged direct German solidarity by accepting 500 asylum seekers from Cyprus.

Scholz asked Turkey, as he stated at the joint press conference with President Anastasiades, to abide by the agreement with the EU, for which he said there is no better alternative, and both President Anastasiades and the Chancellor reportedly condemned Turkey's instrumentalization of the refugee issue.

At the meeting, President Anastasiades emphasized the need for the EU to take decisive action to stop Turkey and any other country from using the migration issue as a tool to advance its own foreign policy objectives.

Since the number of applications for political asylum in the first ten months of 2022 exceeded 18,000, increased migratory flows have made the Republic of Cyprus by far the top EU Member State in terms of the number of applications relative to population.

According to government sources, the urgent issue of migration is one of the government's top priorities, and all actions are directed at reducing the increased migrant flows.