The EU is in the process of creating an agreement with Lebanon that would give the country a funding package to limit the amount of illegal migrants entering the EU. This information was given by the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides.
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“We want to help Lebanon deal with refugees so that more don’t come to Cyprus,” he said.
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Christodoulides stated that on May 2, along with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, he will go to Lebanon to present the financial package.
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“It includes support for Lebanese institutions, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces, which are a stabilizing factor in the country,” the Cypriot president said.
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Christodoulides described the refugee situation in Cyprus as very serious.
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“I am forced to resort to the clearest words here. Enough is enough, we are not able to accept any more Syrian refugees,” he said. “We are at the limit and cannot further overcome this influx,” the president added, pointing out that the share of migrants in relation to the population of Cyprus (about 920 thousand people, according to Eurostat) is 7%.
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Due to this, he mentioned that the Cypriot authorities sought help from the EU and decided to stop the process of reviewing new asylum applications.
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“We strongly demand that certain areas in Syria be classified as safe regions,” Christodoulides said.
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The President pointed out that in the last two to three months, Syrians have been arriving from Lebanon to Cyprus nearly every day.
