Brussels, Belgium. Cyprus will make full implementation of the EU’s new pact on migration the central priority of its EU council presidency, deputy migration minister Nicholas Ioannides told the European parliament on Tuesday.
Preparations for 2026 entry into force
Addressing the parliament’s justice committee, Ioannides said preparations for the pact, expected to enter into force in 2026, were in their final phase, with member states completing the necessary legal, administrative and operational measures.
He said Cyprus would support implementation “at all levels” and facilitate dialogue and cooperation where required.
Ioannides also announced that Cyprus would host a ministerial conference on the day the pact formally enters into force.
Migration placed at centre of presidency agenda
Ioannides placed migration at the centre of the presidency’s political agenda, linking the issue directly to geopolitical instability.
“Cyprus assumes the presidency at a time of acute geopolitical uncertainty,” he said, adding that conflicts in several regions were increasingly affecting both the external and internal security of the EU.
He said no member state could meet these challenges alone and argued that coordinated action is essential.
Focus on voluntary returns
Ioannides said a key focus of the presidency would be voluntary returns, which he described as crucial to an effective and sustainable migration management system.
He told MEPs that Cyprus would work intensively to complete the relevant legislative dossier, adding that the new EU regulation would ensure that non-cooperation could no longer be used to avoid removal.
“It sends a clear message,” he said, “that those who do not have a legal right to remain in the EU will ultimately be returned.”
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