CYPRUS is among the most affected EU member states when it comes to the subject of migration and illegal residency. For years, the island nation endured a refugee crisis as it became a popular transit point for illegal migrants.
The majority of 15 EU member states, including Cyprus and Greece, called for more partnerships and more agreements with nations where migrants depart from or travel through to get to Europe.
The EU member states made the plea a day after the regional bloc passed a measure to update its outdated asylum laws.
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum seeks to revise the region’s migration and asylum policies by imposing hardened borders and shared responsibility among member states.
However, the measure won’t take effect until the next two years and requires all member nations to put all of its provisions into action to be effective.
Cyprus has consistently recorded the highest number of asylum applications among EU countries in recent years.
An average of 30 people per day have been reaching the island since the beginning of 2024, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Cyprus now hosts the most number of refugees per capita within the European Union, with some 50,000 people residing illegally in the country, as of January 2024.
Thousands of refugees enter Cyprus every year as they risk their lives sailing the dangerous waters of the Mediterranean Sea aboard crowded boats in search of a better life in Europe.
