Today, the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Konstantinos Ioannou, made statements on topical issues. Mr. Ioannou was speaking on the sidelines of the visit of the German President Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the Reception and Hospitality Center for International Protection Applicants (KYFADP) in Kofinou and subsequently in Lefkara.
The situation inside Lebanon is difficult - Continuous communication with the authorities of the country for cooperation
Specifically, when asked to say whether there is dissatisfaction from the Cypriot side for Lebanon's refusal yesterday to accept the return of 116 Syrian migrants who were located in international territorial waters after sailing from Lebanon, Mr. Ioannou clarified that, following information from the same the Lebanese authorities, that the boat - which is registered in the Lebanese registry - had sailed and was possibly in danger, the Cypriot authorities carried out a search and rescue operation. Afterwards, contact was made with Lebanon for the return of these persons to Lebanon and an operation followed with the escort of three vessels of the Coastal Police. When the boats approached Lebanon, they were informed that disembarkation would not be allowed.
Asked to say if he believes that this is a consequence of the political situation prevailing in the Middle East, Mr. Ioannou said that it is a consequence of many factors. He reiterated that Lebanon has a very big problem with immigration and underlined that the whole issue will be handled at a political level. He also noted that there is constant communication with the Lebanese authorities, saying that the situation in the country is difficult.
The Government will fully implement the legislation on Local Self-Government, as passed by the Parliament
Subsequently, when asked about the issue of Local Government reform and the debate that has been taking place in the public sphere for the last few days, Mr. Minister clarified that the Government had identified the problems since assuming governance. As he said, "we have mentioned these problems many times. Me personally in my presence in the House of Representatives, as well as in my public interventions. So what is being said as to why this issue has come up now, is not true. For months now, we have been reporting the specific problems we identified in the legislation.
For example, the fact that the mergers of the Municipalities were done without taking into account the geographical, mainly economic and demographic data, creates a problem, in the sense that some Municipalities will not be able to offer the same services and have the same benefits from the reform, so they will not be as sustainable as other Municipalities. I've been reporting this for months."
Continuing, Mr. Ioannou also expressed the concern about the excessive number of Deputy Mayors, the remuneration of the Deputy Mayors, the dysfunction that will be caused by the decision to elect the President of the Provincial Self-Government Organization, while this provision was not intended from the beginning.
"In any case, I want to emphasize something. We want to be honest and sincere to the world. So we have to inform people about the problems. We need to let people know that some citizens will not benefit from the reform like others. I also want to mention that certainly the legislation as passed is not the ideal, but it is much better than the model that exists now", emphasized the Minister of the Interior.
He assured, however, of the commitment of the Government and the Ministry of the Interior specifically, in the effort to implement the reform. "We will apply to the absolute the legislation as it has been passed by the Parliament. We are at the disposal of the legislative power and I have already spoken with Aristos Damianou (current President of the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior), with whom I have an excellent collaboration and we will meet in the next few days to see the issues and problems. There is the will from the Parliament", he stated, explaining that now no amendments can be made, even though an attempt was made last May for some changes. "It was not accepted by some parties, not by all parties. So what they attribute to the Government for not doing something, we took actions, this is recorded, but these things belong to the past. We are here, committed, to implement the law. Any problems that arise in the course after the elections, with good will, let's resolve them for the benefit of the citizen. At the end of the day, we all work and we have a common goal to improve the daily life of the citizens", underlined the Minister.
However, it is equally important to mention that "the implementation of the reform, as it was passed, is in the hands of the Local Authorities. That is, it is the Mayors themselves who are called upon to implement it. It is not the Ministry of the Interior that is currently called upon to implement the reform. The Provisional Councils, as constituted, are composed of Mayors. Some have been identified as being at a more advanced stage, some not. There are given problems. For example, it is inconceivable that four months before the implementation of the legislation, only the Provisional Council of Nicosia would have found accommodation spaces for the Provincial Organisation. The Home Office does not have the tools to enforce anything. I cannot impose as Home Secretary on a person in the Councils that he must rent. That's up to them." He also mentioned that the role of the Ministry of Interior is coordinating and supporting. "We are next to the Municipal Authorities, next to the Mayors, to help them. Either this concerns the "EVAGORAS" System, where problems can arise, or the organizational charts, or it concerns their budgets", Mr. Ioannou explained.
"In conclusion, I want to convey a message to the Local Authorities. We need to step up. We are here to help. At the end of the day this reform should be started with the least possible problems. They have reformed again. I was also responsible for the biggest reform that took place at that time. Three months before GeSY started, we didn't have any Pediatrician in GeSY. It started with some problems, we are improving it so that we all get the benefits that are there," he noted.
When asked if there is a possibility that when the reform is implemented, some municipalities will not survive, the Minister of the Interior clarified that there is no question of survival and reiterated that in some cases, some municipalities will not have the benefits of the reform. Citing as an example cases where Municipalities were left with the same or slightly increased demographic data, they will not have the same benefits as other Municipalities. "They are doing the reform to merge the Municipalities and through the mergers to increase the population, to have economies of scale. When a Municipality remains small, there will be no economies of scale, so the citizens of that Municipality will not benefit from the advantages of the reform and will not be sustainable in the context of the reform," he stressed.
The German President's impression of the immigration policy of Cyprus is positive
In relation to today's visit of the German President to the Center for the Reception and Hosting of Applicants for International Protection, the Minister of the Interior conveyed the positive impression that Mr. Steinmeier gained during his visit to the Center's premises, regarding the good organization and operation of the Center . "Right now there are about 400 migrants, 80 children. There is cooperation with the local school and lessons are held on a daily basis in Greek. Some children stay for a few weeks. Now with the acceleration of the examination procedures it is either approved or rejected in a very short period of time," said Mr. Ioannou, noting that the Greek language learning classes start from the first day, as part of the children's integration. He added that with the contribution of Non-Governmental Organizations and volunteer groups active in the Center, other social and recreational activities are offered, such as dancing.
Asked to say whether the President of Germany also informed about his country's immigration policy, the Minister said that the discussion and interest was mainly focused on informing President Steinmeier about the measures and management of Cyprus. According to Mr. Minister, Mr. Steinmeier was informed about the measures implemented by the Government and specifically about the results of these actions. “The fact that in 2023, we had a significant reduction of almost 50% in the number of asylum seekers and an equally significant increase in returns. Germany is one of the countries that helps relocations to third countries. It has received 1.000 of the 1800 people who have been voluntarily resettled in third countries of the European Union. 1.029 have gone to Germany, and we thanked him for that. We hope for even bigger numbers in the future and we explained to him how the system of voluntary departure and deportation works", pointed out Mr. Ioannou. In this context, the German President expressed the desire to increase this number.
Despite the significant assistance offered by Germany, the Minister of the Interior reiterated the position of the Republic of Cyprus that more needs to be done, beyond technical and financial assistance, particularly on the issue of re-evaluating the Syrian regime. "For us it is very important to start a discussion to reassess the regime of Syria, because we also see what is happening in the last days, when we have constant arrivals by boats from Syria and we do not have the weapons or the supplies to be able to prevent these flows", said the Minister characteristically.