MIGRATION: Cyprus can no longer handle current influx of migrants

Cyprus has far exceeded its fair share of asylum applications and the general migratory pressures it faces, Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides told the EU Home Affairs Ministers Council in Luxembourg.

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He warned his counterparts that the EU "has to assume the responsibilities stemming from the principle of solidarity and the balanced burden sharing" underlining that "Cyprus neither wishes nor can continue to manage these excessive pressures on its own".

“As an EU member, we have to provide effective protection to people who are persecuted or trying to save themselves from the war, which unfortunately is not possible today,” Petrides told his counterparts.

He said Cyprus "will insist on the mandatory reallocation quotas and burden sharing as a basic tool for an effective, fair and viable Asylum System".

The JHA ministers held negotiations on the revision of the Common European Asylum System, the possibilities for alleviating the burden of front-line Member States through Community solidarity, and the Commission`s proposals on border guarding and enhancing the effectiveness of refunds.

Petrides also had bilateral meetings with his counterparts of Greece and Malta, Dimitris Vitsas and Michael Farrugia, as part of the efforts to further coordinate the positions of the front-line members.

On Friday the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon says it helped in rescuing 32 migrants on a boat who were trying to reach Cyprus.

In the first eight months of 2018, requests for asylum continue to show an upward trend, namely 55% higher than in the same period of 2017.

Cyprus – in relation to its size – is now third in Europe for the number of first-time asylum claims it receives.