The Republic of Cyprus is willing to cooperate with Turkey, in the context of the European Union, to contain illegal immigration, Neoklis Sylikiotis, Minister of Interior, has said.
“Such cooperation has to take place, since most illegal immigrants who come to Cyprus arrive through the country’s northern occupied areas, which have been under Turkish occupation since 1974 and therefore under the control of the Turkish military,” he pointed out. Sylikiotis also said that asylum procedures must be accelerated and that detention areas for illegal immigrants must be separated. “By doing that, the government will be able to deal more easily with deportation orders for illegal immigrants,” he added. Speaking in Larnaca on Sunday, Sylikiotis said that he explained the gravity of the situation, as far as illegal immigration is concerned, to the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs during last week’s visit to Cyprus.
“Such cooperation has to take place, since most illegal immigrants who come to Cyprus arrive through the country’s northern occupied areas, which have been under Turkish occupation since 1974 and therefore under the control of the Turkish military,” he pointed out. Sylikiotis also said that asylum procedures must be accelerated and that detention areas for illegal immigrants must be separated. “By doing that, the government will be able to deal more easily with deportation orders for illegal immigrants,” he added. Speaking in Larnaca on Sunday, Sylikiotis said that he explained the gravity of the situation, as far as illegal immigration is concerned, to the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs during last week’s visit to Cyprus.
The European Parliament Committee has pledged to present the problem Cyprus faces to the European Commission, “which is very important”, Sylikiotis noted. Sylikiotis also said that the government is going to receive 48 million euro from the EU Solidarity Fund, to deal improve border surveillance and deportation of illegal immigrants. The issue of illegal immigration will be discussed during the next EU Council meeting, on Tuesday, June 5 in Luxembourg. “The government disagrees with the directive that is now being drafted by the Commission, on the extension of the long-term resident status to refugees and persons enjoying subsidiary protection”, Sylikiotis pointed out, recalling that for decades, Cyprus has shown solidarity with the people of Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine who are facing this kind of problems. In his remarks about illegal immigration, Minister of Justice and Public Order Kypros Chrysostomides said that “illegal immigration is an EU problem too.”
Speaking on Sunday, he said illegal immigration is a big problem because most illegal immigrants are filtered through to the southern government controlled part of the country via the northern Turkish occupied areas of the Republic. “The main and joint target of the Ministries of Justice and Interior is to make the European Union more sensitive to problems Cyprus faces, due to the Turkish occupation”, Chrysostimides concluded.
