Von der Leyen: Cyprus has made good progress in returning migrants

Cyprus has “made good progress” in its efforts to return migrants to their country of origin, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.

Speaking in Paphos ahead of the European Union’s ‘Med9’ group leaders’ summit, she echoed the words of her outgoing vice president for promoting the European way of life Margaritis Schinas, who had earlier in the year described Cyprus as an “emerging European champion of migrant returns”.

With the aim of maintaining and expanding this, von der Leyen said, the commission will “continue to build strategic relations with third countries of origin and transit with a key focus on the Mediterranean.”

One arm of those relations was a €1 billion financial support package from the European Union to Lebanon signed in May.

The package includes programmes for Lebanon’s security forces and border force, aiming to allow the country to more securely patrol its own borders and thus prevent undocumented migrants from transiting through the country on their way to Cyprus and the rest of the EU.

On Friday, von der Leyen hailed the progress made on the matter through the deal struck with Lebanon, saying, “we saw with Lebanon how important cooperation with partner countries is and that this kind of engagement definitely brings results”.

She added that migration is “a European challenge which requires European solutions”, and said efforts to stem flows, including the deal struck with Lebanon, among others, are now beginning to pay off.

“If you look at the figures for irregular arrivals in the first eight months of this year, the ‘central Mediterranean route’, historically one of the busiest, saw a 64 per cent decrease,” she said.

She did note that migration routes are constantly evolving, and said that to this end, “what this takes is constant effort ant constant attention.”

She drew attention to the EU’s pact on migration and asylum, which was finalised in April, describing it as the bloc’s “joint road map” and adding that “we must now focus on making the pact a reality”.

“At the same time, we will continue our operational work. In other words, we will continue to support our member states to strengthen border surveillance, fight smugglers and work on returns,” she said.

In addition to the matter of migration, von der Leyen also spoke about the ongoing deteriorating political situation in the Middle East, confirming that it was the first item on the agenda of the day’s summit.

“This is especially important in the current situation. Iran’s recent massive ballistic missile attack against Israel constitutes a serious escalation and a threat to regional stability,” she said.

She thus called for “a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible to make room for a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line”.

The Blue Line is a demarcation line dividing Lebanon and Israel from the Golan Heights and is described as a “line of withdrawal”. It was drawn by the United Nations in 2000. The Golan Heights are Syrian territory which was invaded and occupied by Israel in 1967.

On the matter of the Middle East’s deteriorating political situation, von der Leyen also moved to thank Cyprus “for its operational readiness to assist possible evacuation operations from the Lebanon” and also for its work to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.