https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-urges-eu-support-for-lebanon-amid-migration-challenges
The Cypriot government is pleading with the European Union (EU) for financial support for Lebanon to bolster its border management efforts, according to a report by our Brussels correspondent, George Kakouris. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-faces-migration-crisis-amid-infrastructure-strain
Cyprus is facing a mounting migration crisis as data obtained by K on Thursday reveals a surge in illegal immigrant arrivals, straining the government's resources and raising concerns about a humanitarian emergency....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/interior-minister-calls-for-urgent-refugee-return-evaluation
Minister for the Interior Constantinos Ioannou raised the need to review the status of Syria as a safe or not destination for the purposes of returning of refugees and migrants, during his intervention at the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU, according to a press release....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/german-president-s-cyprus-visit-marks-new-diplomatic-era
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier begins contacts on Monday as part of his state visit to Cyprus between 11-13 February at the invitation of the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/minister-highlights-smallest-resident-population-at-pournara
The outlook for Cyprus in relation to migration is positive, as in 2023 a 46% reduction in irregular migrant applications and a 66% increase in returns have been achieved, Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou said on Wednesday....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/german-president-steinmeier-embarks-on-first-ever-state-visit-to-cyprus
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will carry out a state visit to Cyprus between 11-13 February at the invitation of the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/government-achieves-historic-50-drop-in-asylum-applications
There is a 50% reduction in the period March-October 2023 in new asylum applications compared to the 2022 corresponding period, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, noting at the same time that for the first time, the overall balance of arrivals-returns presents a positive picture, and Cyprus is now ranking in the first places among European states in absolute numbers of returns....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/chlorakas-attack-highlights-growing-racial-tensions-in-cyprus
The violent attack on Syrian residents in Chloraka last Sunday during a community demonstration related to the refugee-migration issue represents a failure on multiple fronts....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/border-barbs-former-minister-takes-on-migration-policies
Nikos Nouris, the former counterpart of Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou, didn't hold back in expressing his dissatisfaction with Ioannou's recent statements on the migration issue and the barbed wire along the green line. Speaking on "SPOR FM 95.0" and the program "DIASPORA NEWS," Nouris described Ioannou's view that the barbed wire could be politically dangerous as unfortunate, emphasizing that they must prevent the division of their country by any means necessary....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/interior-minister-says-barbed-wire-plan-impractical-and-politically-risky
In a recent statement, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou deemed the idea of placing barbed wire along the Green Line to handle migrant flows as practically impossible and politically dangerous. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/ex-‘superminister-defends-proposal-after-boat-disaster
A Cypriot former minister known for his tough stance on migration wants a yay or nay on his proposal where asylum applications could be filed abroad, a measure not supported by some capitals including Berlin, which may be having second thoughts in the aftermath of a boat disaster in Greece...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-takes-a-stand-for-solidarity-in-eu-immigration-reform
Minister of Interior Konstantinos Ioannou announced on Friday that Cyprus views the establishment of a mandatory solidarity mechanism as a significant development for the country....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/determined-man-makes-a-run-for-it-at-ledra-crossing
A man was arrested on Tuesday near the Ledra crossing point in divided Nicosia, but little is known about the incident which ended up with Greek Cypriot officers who blocked his way to the south getting injured as he tried to make a run for it...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/minister-highlights-progress-in-migration-management-efforts
During a recent press conference on migration, Constantinos Ioannou, the Minister of Interior, discussed the current state of asylum applications and the return of irregular migrants to their countries of origin between March and May 2023. He emphasized the government's policies and measures to address these challenges....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/christodoulides-shift-allowances-and-overtime-compensation-from-2024
President Nikos Christodoulides addressed the 60th Congress of PASYDY, the Civil Servants' Trade Union, where he discussed significant developments regarding the restoration of shift allowances and overtime compensation for civil servants....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/green-line-border-agents-get-ready-for-action
Over two hundred Green Line border agents will report on duty later this month on the Greek Cypriot side of the UN buffer zone, but the newly-hired sergeants will only focus on irregular migrants, leaving drug trafficking and other crimes off the agenda...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/asylum-applications-up-by-490-since-2016
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou told MPs on Thursday that the number of applications for international protection increased by 490% since 2016, pointing out the need to implement an EU action plan for the Eastern Mediterranean with a view to reducing migratory flows....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-asks-for-more-assistance-to-stem-green-line-flow
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Dr. Costas Constantinou requested during the informal Ministerial Meeting of the MED5 (Greece, Italy, Spain, Malta and Cyprus) the assistance of FRONTEX to limit the flow of irregular migrants from Turkey through the Green Line, while the issue of the Green Line was also included in the joint communiqué that was signed by the participants....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/wronged-worker-slams-cyprus-over-migration-crisis
Thousands of asylum seekers in Cyprus were sent back to their countries last year but one foreign worker, who feels he has no good options following a dispute with his employer, says many people who come to work on the island are forced to seek asylum because the system is not in their favor...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/nouris-the-cause-of-cyprus-immigration-problem-is-turkey
Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said on Monday that Turkey is the eliciting factor of the migration issue in Cyprus, speaking at a press conference where he presented the work of his Ministry during his term....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/athienou-draws-line-over-buffer-zone-barbwire
A recent renovation of a Greek Cypriot police station near the buffer zone came with promises of additional staff and better monitoring of the area, but leaders of the local community have second thoughts over a controversial barb wire...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/first-group-of-asylum-seekers-relocated-to-germany-from-cyprus
Repatriation flights from Cyprus to Germany and France began at the end of December as part of the EU's support policy for Nicosia in the refugee crisis. ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/un-chief-sees-no-common-ground-in-divided-cyprus
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' report on the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, released on Wednesday night as an official document of the Security Council, number S/2023/3, records the lack of common ground between the two sides for peace talks leading to a mutually agreeable solution...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/leaked-un-report-on-cyprus-raises-eyebrows
A draft report by the UN Secretary General on the peacekeeping force in divided Cyprus has been leaked to Greek Cypriot media, prompting political pundits to point to bleak and candid references to a host of divisive issues including...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/18-5-thousand-irregular-migrants-crossed-the-green-line-this-year
Members of the EU High-Level Network on Returns will communicate to the EU and their countries the true dimension and source of the Republic of Cyprus's migrant flow problem, which is none other than the crossing of migrants through the Green Line....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/op-ed-immigration-as-a-matter-of-national-survival
The migration issue, along with Turkey's ongoing threats and galloping inflation due to the explosion in energy prices, undoubtedly ranks first in the hierarchy of Cypriot citizens' concerns....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/nouris-eu-should-sanction-countries-that-instrumentalize-migration
The EU should have concrete sanctions in place when there is proof that migrants are being instrumentalized, as in the case of Cyprus, Interior Minister Nicos Nouris said....
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/cyprus-hopeful-about-eu-migration-pact
The interior ministry in the Republic of Cyprus says an EU council draft that makes adoption of asylum and migration rules a priority includes a Green Line reference, seen by Nicosia as an important step in its attempt to block flows from the northern part seen by the south as 'instruments of Turkey'...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/comment/opinion/op-ed-irregular-immigration-the-responsibilities-of-turkey-and-the-eu
"Turkey will take all necessary measures to prevent the opening of new sea or land routes of irregular migration from Turkey to the EU and will cooperate in this regard with neighboring countries as well as the EU." ...
https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/presidential-contender-government-swing-for-the-fences
Cypriot presidential candidate Andreas Mavroyiannis drew heavy criticism from the interior ministry on Monday, after the former chief negotiator spoke on the weekend against a controversial barbwire fence south of the buffer zone...
