Cyprus Asks EU to Review Whether Syria Unsafe for Repatriations

Cyprus Asks EU to Review Whether Syria Unsafe for Repatriations
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Cyprus Asks EU to Review Whether Syria Unsafe for Repatriations

Cyprus Asks EU to Review Whether Syria Unsafe for Repatriations

European Union member Cyprus said Friday it has asked the bloc to review whether Syria remains an unsafe country to which member states should be barred from repatriating asylum-seekers.

The move follows a flurry of racially-motivated attacks on foreigners in recent weeks amid growing anti-migrant sentiment on the Mediterranean island.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said he would try to persuade the EU and the United Nations to end Syria’s status as an unsafe country for refugees to be returned to.

"We, as Cyprus, consider and find it conducive, along with other member states, that the status of Syria should be re-evaluated," he told reporters, AFP reported.

Ioannou said the bloc had left Syria's status unchanged for 11 years, and a review was needed as some areas were considered safe.

"There are already two areas recognized by the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) as safe areas," he said.

“So, it must now also be recognized at the level of the European Union, allowing us to deport or return people to Syria. At the moment, no country can do so.”

In a letter to European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas, Ioannou said he had also raised the urgent need for aid to Lebanon, where it is estimated that 2.5 million Syrians have taken refuge.

“The information we have from the authorities in Lebanon is that there is an increase in Syrians moving to Lebanon.

"Lebanon is a barrier. If Lebanon collapses, then all of Europe will have a problem," he said.

In recent months, Cyprus has seen a surge of asylum seekers, most of them Syrian, arriving by sea from Syria and Lebanon.

The minister said the government has reduced arrivals of irregular migrants by 50 percent, thanks to external factors and specific measures taken.

"We have managed to increase returns by 50 percent from 3,200 to 4,700, whether they are voluntary, which we have invested a lot in, or deportations."

Ioannou said the processing of asylum applications had been speeded up and now took three months instead of nine.

He said the government aims "to reduce the financial benefits for asylum seekers to make Cyprus an unattractive destination".

Asylum applications fell to 5,866 for the period from March to August, down from 11,961 for the same period of last year, according to interior ministry figures.

The government argues that Cyprus is a "frontline" country on the Mediterranean migration route, with asylum-seekers making up six percent of the 915,000 population in government-controlled areas –- the highest proportion in the bloc.

Although asylum applications are down, there has been a rise in migrants arriving by boat, with a 60 percent increase recorded in the first seven months of the year.



Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis's support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

These positions became particularly evident in Francis's response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.

"He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times -- for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm," said the patriarch.

He added that by doing so, the pope "became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this".

Out of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the besieged territory.

"Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict," said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff's actions.

"For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy."

The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even as "the local authorities... were not always happy" with the pope's positions or statements, they were "always very respectful", he said.

Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the morning.

As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.

Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.

His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.