MINISTERS: Schina's statements show the effectiveness of immigration policy

The statements of the Vice President of the European Commission on the migration policy of Cyprus reflect the correctness of the approach and the effectiveness of the policy implemented by the Government in the last 12 months, said the Minister of the Interior, Konstantinos Ioannou, in his written statement, commenting on the Commissioner's interview Margariti Schina in the "Politis" newspaper.

"The statements of the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr. Margaritis Schinas, regarding the management of immigration by the Cypriot Government, constitute recognition of our policy as an example to be imitated", notes the Minister, stating that these are of particular weight and importance and reflect the correctness of the approach and the effectiveness of the policy implemented in the last 12 months by the Christodoulidis Government.

Referring to excerpts of the statements, such as "small Cyprus emerges as a European champion of returns with very significant successes", "without any doubt this time may be the best moment in the management of immigration (...) Cyprus succeeds", "in immigration there has been a bottom in the barrel, i.e. the management of immigration is on a more stable basis", he said that these "honor our country and reward our effort".

He underlined, however, that "we are not complacent", noting that immigration is here to stay and is a complex problem, which is influenced by external factors and can change at any time. "As a Government, we declare our commitment to continuing and strengthening the successful actions to improve immigration data, having the European Union as our constant supporter", he said, adding that he expects the EU's assistance to be just as decisive issue of the re-evaluation of the regime of Syria, an issue for which the Republic of Cyprus has developed an initiative since last summer.