Deal signed for EASO help to tackle asylum influx

Cyprus is the first European Union member to host the European Asylum Support Office permanently to help the Mediterranean island cope with a spike in migrants, officials said Thursday.

Cypriot Interior Minister Constantinos Petrides said Cyprus is the first country among the 28 EU states to sign a hosting agreement for expert assistance from the EASO as its asylum system is “overburdened”.

Under the agreement signed on Thursday with EASO executive director Nina Gregori, Nicosia will host a permanent EASO office as Cyprus has struggled to handle an unprecedented increase in irregular migration.

Gregori hailed the “crucial” deal saying Europe seeks to expedite asylum claims to help reduce secondary flows.

“We can, of course, help people in distress, and people who are waiting for a long time in the asylum capacities. Our collaboration will help in many ways,” Nina Gregori said.

She added: “I am glad that Cyprus really is a running force, because in fact, we have not efficiently completed any kind of hosting arrangement in any other country. In Europe, Cyprus is really a forerunner”.

Petrides said the EASO will provide 4.5 million euros exclusively to Cyprus, increasing the number of experts involved in the registration and management of international protection applicants, from 20 to 40 this year and from 40 to 80 within 2020.

He said the EASO will contribute to speeding up the examination procedures while preventing the abuse of the system and providing training for asylum staff.

Cyprus says it has come under pressure from increased irregular migration flows ranking it top in first-time asylum claims per capita.

In August, Cyprus requested fellow EU member states to accept for relocation 5000 of its migrants to significantly alleviate the “disproportionate pressures and severe challenges” faced by the country.

Petrides said new asylum claims have shot up by 130 per cent in July to 7812 compared to 2018 with more than 12,000 still pending.

Syrian nationals account for over 26% of the overall irregular migratory influx to Cyprus from 2016 onwards.

Cyprus is located 160 kilometres from Syria’s Mediterranean coast, has not seen the massive inflow of migrants experienced by Turkey and Greece.