Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus is set to receive around €800 million for 2028-2034 to address immigration, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannides said on Monday. Officials said the funding is needed to strengthen the country’s asylum, reception, immigration and returns system.
Funding plans for 2028-2034
Earlier, Deputy Minister for Immigration Nicholas Ioannides said Cyprus, as a frontline EU member state, must seek increased funding to manage the situation, with most of the money expected to come from the EU.
Both Ioannides and Deputy Minister Nicholas Ioannides were speaking at the fourth meeting of the monitoring committee for the home affairs fund for 2021-2027 in Nicosia, where they stressed the importance of funding as a key tool for strengthening immigration-related systems.
Current funding period
In the current planning period, Cyprus has been approved for €480 million, of which €304 million has already been disbursed.
Nicholas Ioannides said this amount was 70 per cent higher than in the previous planning period.
Including national funds, Cyprus has used €375 million since 2021 to improve immigration infrastructure and procedures.
Projects and infrastructure
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannides said the funding had gone towards a total of 95 projects.
He said EU funds had been turned into interventions with measurable results.
He cited two interventions in Cyprus: the Limnes reception and pre-departure centre and the upgrading of the reception centre in Pournara.
According to the minister, the Limnes centre is expected to be completed by September. It will have capacity for 1,000 people and is intended to ease pressure on urban areas.
