Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou
The demand for the sharing of the refugee flows among all member states must be raised urgently before the EU

19 April 2024, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou, yesterday called on the parliamentary parties to immediately launch parliamentary diplomacy, so that the demand for the distribution of refugee flows to all member states according to their population and capacities is immediately and urgently put to the EU.

Speaking from the floor of the plenary of the House of Representatives on the migration issue, Stefanos Stefanou pointed out that AKEL proposes two immediate measures:

Firstly, both Parliament, through Parliamentary diplomacy, as well as the President of the Republic and the government, should immediately and urgently put to the EU the demand for the distribution of refugee flows to all member states according to their population and capacities, as was done in the case of Ukrainian refugees.

Secondly, to urgently request that Cyprus be exempted from the Dublin Regulation which traps flows in the first country of arrival. As Stefanos Stefanou underlined, Cyprus has strong arguments to support the above-mentioned demands, as it is a small island and semi-occupied country.

At the same time, he called on the government to proceed with the following measures:

● Implement a comprehensive human resources development scheme so that migrants and asylum seekers work with dignity where there is a need and with regulated labour relations to avoid
being exploited in undeclared work.

● Promote bilateral agreements on repatriation through the EU’s contribution.

● Improve and strengthen infrastructures and services for handling flows.

Finally, Stefanos Stefanou responded to all those who claim that AKEL is in favour of open borders stressing that AKEL never was, nor is AKEL in favour of such a policy. This obscene lie, he added, is repeated by various people who have no arguments to counter AKEL’s comprehensive approach to migration and refugee issues.

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19.04.2024