The Republic of Cyprus is always vigilant on security measures ahead of the holiday period, as are the other EU member states, Justice and Public Order Minister Anna Koukkides-Procopiou said on Sunday.

In statements on the sidelines of the annual memorial service for former President Tassos Papadopoulos at Kato Deftera, Nicosia district, and asked whether Cyprus is also following the course adopted throughout Europe by declaring the coming period as a high-risk one and increasing security measures, the Justice Minister said that “this is definitely the philosophy of the government”.

She added that during the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council held last week in Brussels, all Member States were concerned in view of the holidays, and given the situation in the Middle East that does not seem to be calming down, about “what could happen in case of indiscriminate attacks against citizens in city centres by the so-called ‘lone wolves’, as unfortunately happened in Brussels just after the Council of Ministers.”

The Republic of Cyprus is “always vigilant, as are the other EU member states,” she noted.

Asked whether there is a strengthening of measures in Cyprus in places considered more high-risk or whether there are just stricter measures being applied more generally, Koukkides-Procopiou said the Ministry is addressing these concerns in a twofold way. On the one hand by increased policing of specific sites for which there have been concerns since the first day of the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, with some sites being added to the list as a result of a more detailed risk analysis, while at the same time there will be increased policing in view of the holiday period.