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President outlines Cyprus’ increased migration pressures

16/12/2021 09:42

Inflow of migrants in Cyprus in 2021 has increased by an annual 40%, President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades told on Tuesday a virtual conference called by the European Council President Charles Michel in view of the EU Summit to be held tomorrow in Brussels.

Migration will be among the agenda items of the EU Summit, with Anastasiades stating that Cyprus is the EU member-state receiving the highest number of migrants in relation to its population. He also stressed the disproportionate burden the island-state is facing due to very high migration flows.

According to sources, the President added that the highest rate of asylum seekers concerns persons who are systematically forwarded by Turkey to the government-controlled areas through the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus.

Data from state services show that during the period of January to November, 12,000 undocumented migrants have arrived in Cyprus, the majority of which from the occupied areas. Asylum seekers and persons eligible for international protection correspond to 4% of the island’s population which competent services describe as “huge,” compared to 1% in the rest EU front-line states.

Cyprus has applied for assistance both from the EU as well as from other EU member-states.