Throwing money at irregular migration will not make it go away, Cyprus said on Monday, saying the EU needed to take a holistic approach and rethink a ban on deportations to Syria.
Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Reuters/Juan Medina
Throwing money at irregular migration will not make it go away, Cyprus said on Monday, saying the EU needed to take a holistic approach and rethink a ban on deportations to Syria.
Cyprus has seen a spike in irregular migration in recent years, either by sea from neighbouring Syria and Lebanon, or via a now-closed loophole via a ceasefire line splitting the island.
"If we really want to deal with the migration issue its not through money, or actions to deal with the phenomenon itself. It has to be through assessing the root causes and cooperating with countries where migrants come from," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
Cyprus lies about 100 miles (185 km) west of Lebanon and Syria. Last year it saw arrivals more than quadruple from both countries, fanning fears in Nicosia of a surge if tensions in the Middle East engulf the broader region.
An EU member since 2004 and the closest to the Middle East, Nicosia wants the bloc to consider declaring parts of war-ravaged Syria safe, which would allow authorities to repatriate people arriving from there.
"I'm aware of the sensitivities around this," said Christodoulides. "There are areas in Syria where we have to examine whether they are safe, and by extension, if migrants from those specific areas can be returned.
I don't think its right for the EU not to discuss this," he said.
Reporting By Michele Kambas
DNA testing has helped identify the remains of missing people in at least three cases in Syria this year, the country's first such identification cases and a breakthrough in efforts to establish the fates of people missing after years of war.
He celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake decorated with a noose. He says he plans to surround jailed Palestinians with crocodiles. In videos, he berates foreign activists captured at sea trying to bring aid to Gaza, forced to kneel at his feet with their faces pressed to the ground.
Lebanon's social affairs minister said Monday that about 700,000 Syrians have returned home from Lebanon, calling it proof of "the success of coordination between the two countries."
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.