EU funds €170 mln for migrant infrastructure

The European Commission has announced it will fund new projects costing €171 mln to support migrant reception, asylum and return systems in Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Poland.

Funding for all countries will be directed to projects related to their reception, asylum and return systems and is intended for national authorities and international organisations.

Support for Cyprus will go to the construction of accommodation and pre-departure centres in the Menoyia area of Larnaca.

The projects to be funded were selected through a competitive call launched at the beginning of 2022 to fund projects in the Member States under pressure.

Cyprus says it is on the frontline of a new migration wave towards Europe from the eastern Mediterranean and has more new asylum applicants per population than any other EU state.

The financial support to international organisations in Greece will improve the quality of protection assistance to asylum seekers hosted within the reception system.

It will focus on individual management of people in a situation of vulnerability and providing support for education to the school-aged refugee children in Greece.

In Spain, it will be dedicated to the reinforcement of the capacity of the reception system in Ceuta and the Canary Islands, contributing to mitigating their reception capacity overload stemming from the increased migratory pressure.

The project of Italy will focus on strengthening the capacity of the reception system from arrival to all phases of reception to protect and care for the most vulnerable refugee children and women.

The award to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Poland will focus on strengthening a rights-based and protection-sensitive approach to providing direct assistance and improving return procedures.