The new EU asylum and migration deal was slammed by left-wing party Akel, which has charged that the pact will cement the problem of refugees getting stuck in southern Mediterranean states-Cyprus included.
In a statement on Thursday, Akel characterised the EU’s latest agreement on migration as “anything but a cause for celebration.”
The pact does not promote solidarity towards the states of the southern Mediterranean, nor does it guarantee solidarity towards those in need of protection, Akel asserted.
In its statement, the party noted that the new deal keeps intact a cornerstone principle of the Dublin Regulation – that which designates the first country of arrival [into the EU] as the member state responsible for each applicant.
“In other words, refugees seeking asylum in the EU will continue to be trapped in the countries of the Mediterranean south, among them Cyprus,” Akel said.
The party further charged that the new agreement “fails to introduce what leftists in Europe have been asking for years: the establishment of a system of distribution and accommodation of refugees in all EU member states, without exception, according to the population and the capabilities of each one.”
Instead, the new pact will allow member states to absolve themselves of their duty to host refugees, by simply paying frontline states in money or in kind, to take on their burden, Akel said.
Moreover, the pact “increases the EU’s dependency on third countries such as Turkey and Libya to manage migration and control its borders,” the party said, which it views as a proven failed strategy.
“The experience of the EU-Turkey deal shows how Erdogan blackmailed the European states with the refugee [issue], while receiving billions of euros in handouts,” it added.
Akel also took issue with what the party sees as shortcomings in the actual safeguarding of migrant’s human rights, saying the agreement diminishes the framework of protection defined by asylum law and by much-vaunted European principles and values.
“Simultaneously, [the agreement] paves the way for more crackdowns on refugees, a mix that will boost traffickers and slave traders and multiply tragedies at sea,” Akel charged.
“The new pact, which is headed for approval in the coming months, does not provide solutions for states like Cyprus […] and in some aspects it is expected to worsen the situation,” the party concluded.
Responding to a question on the EU deal earlier this month, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou specified the important aspect of the agreement was that “solidarity between states in handling migration is now recognised.”
He asserted it meant that, in times of crisis, such as those which unfolded in 2015-2016, there would be relocations and assistance from other countries.
“The recognition of mandatory solidarity [envisages] that frontline […] countries such as Cyprus, in [the case of] disproportionate numbers of migrants, will be able to proceed with relocations,” Ioannou said.
The minister, however, conceded it was regrettable that the relocations were not mandatory.
“We will also have to see exactly how the mechanism will work for about 100,000 people a year for all member states, how the sharing between states will be done, and so on,” he said.
He noted that ideally for Cyprus, relocations ought to be compulsory since the problem does not hinge on finances and the country already receives financial support from the EU.
In a related statement on the matter of cutting off illegal migration flows to the island the minister described the EU pact as “a step in the right direction” but noted it did not practically alter Cyprus’ plans, as the country has no land borders, and therefore could not implement policies pertinent to countries such as Greece and Spain.