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541. Cyprus outlines drastic step on migration

Republic of Cyprus Interior Minister Nikos Nouris is urgently seeking a constitutional amendment to shorten the time of due process for asylum applicants, calling a set of government-sponsored bills a “holistic approach” to immigration during a press conference on Thursday...

542. Evidence destroyed in Edek probe

A political party in the Republic of Cyprus is at the centre of a new investigation into possible obstruction of justice, after it emerged that important evidence into an ongoing probe had been destroyed...

543. EU pushes to unlock borders as coronavirus ravages travel

544. EU unveils virus exit roadmap, hoping to avoid more chaos

The European Union moved Wednesday to head off a chaotic and potentially disastrous easing of restrictions that are limiting the spread of the coronavirus, warning its 27 nations to move very cautiously as they return to normal life and base their actions on scientific advice....

545. 'We've learnt nothing' from euro crisis, ex EC president Juncker says

In an interview with Politico's Brussels Playbook, former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has expressed his disappointment over the discord that emerged between euro zone countries in their attempts to come up with a joint response to the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. ...

546. EU secures essential protective gear for its battle against coronavirus

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it has been successful in procuring personal protective equipment that is to be distributed across EU Member States to assist in their battles against the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen an exponential surge in demand for the essential protective gear....

547. Turkish special forces fire over Greek military vehicle at border, Kathimerini learns

There is evidence of a sharp increase in aggressive behavior by Turkish security forces in both the Aegean and at the Evros land border, Kathimerini has learned. ...

548. Erdogan likens Greek authorities to Nazis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said there is “no difference” between Nazis and the Greek authorities trying to hold the country’s border against the influx of thousands of migrants and refugees spurred to push into the European Union by Ankara....

549. Berlin to take up to 100 children from Greek refugee camps

Berlin will take in 80 to 100 children from Greek refugee camps, an official in the German capital said on Tuesday, as concern mounts about migrants amassing on the Turkish-Greek border....

550. Erdogan says Greece’s treatment of migrants at border ‘murderous’

Turkey intends to take Greece to task over its alleged “maltreatment” of refugees and migrants spurred on by Ankara to push into the European Union through the Greek-Turkish border, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a flight back from Brussels on Tuesday, according to the pro-government Daily Sabah. ...

551. EU executive tells Turkey to take migrants back from Greek border

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said ahead of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey must move refugees and migrants away from the Greek border....

552. Special force from Cyprus flies to Greece

Nearly two dozen members of Cypriot special security forces have been deployed to Greece’s Evros region to assist in a pushback of undocumented migrants, with reports saying the situation was calmer after a tense weekend...

553. Greek forces use tear gas to repel migrants

Greek riot police and troops used water cannon and tear gas on Wednesday against hundreds of migrants as they made another attempt to cross the border from Turkey into Greece....

554. EU interior ministers to pledge ‘all necessary measures’ to stop illegal crossings

EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday will pledge “all necessary measures” to prevent illegal crossings into the bloc’s external borders, according to a draft of their conclusions seen by Kathimerini, which also calls upon Turkey to abide by the terms of a 2016 deal to stem flows in the Aegean....

555. EU Commission notified of checkpoint closures

The European Commission has been informed of the temporary closing of four checkpoints, and said it would continue monitoring the situation closely in order to ensure that each closure and health checks remain in accordance with the Green Line Regulation....

556. Guards use tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants at Greek-Turkish border

Guards on Greece’s northeastern land border with Turkey made “deterrent use” of tear gas to disperse some 500 refugees and migrants trying to enter the country and the European Union after Ankara loosened controls on migrant flows....

557. Interior Minister talks migration, Cyprus investment program with EU officials in Brussels

Interior Minister Nicos Nouris informed the EU Commission’s Vice-President Margaritis Schoinas on Cyprus’ needs and the issues the country faces in dealing with the increased flow of migrants, ahead of the presentation of relevant proposals by the Commission next month....

558. Interior Minister in Brussels for meetings with European Commission on migration

Cyprus’ Minister of the Interior Nicos Nouris will be travelling to Brussels on Monday for a series of meetings with the senior leadership of the European Commission to discuss migration....

559. Greek PM meets with five EU leaders over bloc's budget

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held talks in Brussels on Friday with the leaders of Germany Angela Merkel, France Emmanuel Macron, Spain Pedro Sanchez, Italy Giuseppe Conte and Portugal Antonio Costa in a bid to break a deadlock in negotiations for the European Union’s 2021-2027 budget....

560. Summit standoff as EU leaders grapple with Brexit-sized hole in budget

EU leaders made no headway on Thursday in fractious talks on a joint 2021-27 budget that was left with a 75 billion-euro (62.9 billion pounds) hole after Britain’s departure at a time when they face costly new challenges from climate change to migration....

561. Shipping Deputy Minister calls for action to maintain competitiveness of European Shipping

Cyprus' Shipping Deputy Minister Natasa Pilides underlined "the need to maintain the competitiveness of European Shipping," during the debate on trade and competitiveness at a conference held within the framework of the European Maritime Week, in Brussels....

562. Cyprus Shipping Chamber backs EU Shipping Industry positions on EU Green Deal

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber expressed its fully supports the EU Shipping Industry’s positions on the EU Green Deal, noting that the shipping industry is fully committed to eradicating its GHG emissions completely as soon as possible in this century. ...

563. Cyprus and 8 EU countries object to new rules of mobility package on commercial vehicles

Implications of a new rule included in the EU mobility package currently under negotiation, whereby commercial vehicles, lorries, and trucks will be required to return to their licensing Member State every eight weeks, were raised on Wednesday by Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos and several of his counterparts to the Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Transport....

564. Amid tension, Greece, Turkey hold military-to-military talks

A delegation of Turkish military officials is due in Athens to resume confidence-building talks amid tension between the two NATO members over maritime oil-and-gas drilling rights....

565. EDEK party shrinks as turmoil escalates over ousted MEP

After the dramatic ousting of MEP Demetris Papadakis from socialist party Edek on Monday, the party continued to shrink throughout the week with the resignation of ten party members by Friday....

566. Officials deny weak spots in virus front lines

State health officials have denounced questions in the media over the handling of the coronavirus risk at airports, saying the image of the Republic of Cyprus was at stake...

567. Athens drafts package to ease tension with Anakara

Athens plans to present a package of proposals to ease Aegean tensions in talks with Ankara on confidence building measures on February 17-21....

568. Health Minister travels to Brussels for extraordinary EU coronavirus meeting

Amid growing concerns over coronavirus, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou will be rushing to Brussels on Wednesday after the European Union called for an emergency meeting of EU Health Ministers on Thursday....

569. Tzitzikostas elected President of the European Committee of the Regions

Governor of Central Macedonia region Aspostolos Tzitzikostas has been elected President of the European Committee of the Regions....

570. Cavusoglu: Turkey is prepared to cooperate with all apart from G/C

Turkey is prepared to cooperate with everyone apart from the Republic of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said....