Cyprus is technically ready to become a full member of the Schengen area, and a political agreement is now needed, Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, said in statements to reporters in Luxembourg on Thursday, upon his arrival at the Justice and Home Affairs Council.
"All recommendations made by the Commission are now considered to have been implemented. Therefore, from a technical perspective, Cyprus is ready to become a full member of the Schengen area. It is now necessary to reach an agreement at the political level," he said, adding that Nicosia counts on the support of its EU partners over the coming months.
Referring to the recent crisis in Ceuta, he expressed Cyprus' solidarity with Spain. "In case any member state faces massive migratory flows, the EU and its member states need to ensure that the affected member state receives tangible support. We have to act in a concerted manner, to safeguard EU territory and the Schengen area," he said.
Asked whether new regulations are needed, he said the new Pact on Migration and Asylum already includes specific rules on force majeure. "There have been some discussions on a new mechanism for crisis management to tie up some loose ends, so perhaps we could discuss some additional measures, but the overall architecture, I think, is a solid legal basis," he noted.
On the possibility of temporarily suspending asylum applications in case of mass arrivals, he said this falls within the same discussion. "They need to address some very specific cases when the force majeure rules are not applicable, meaning when migrants do not submit asylum applications. Therefore, we are open to discussion, and we are willing to support any initiatives that will enable us to address effectively any such cases of mass migratory flows," he added.
