Plan activated for possible Lebanon migration crisis

A plan called Nafkratis has been updated for migratory flows in case Cyprus needs to become a safe junction for evacuees due to an explosive situation in Lebanon and the broader region, Deputy Migration Minister Nicolas Ioannides said on Tuesday.

He added that crisis management plan Estia has been in place for a few weeks now.

“We are following what is going on in our region. Unfortunately, developments are negative.”

Speaking on Philenews podcast, Ioannides said the deputy ministry is getting ready to handle a migration crisis with a two-fold plan and that “of course we are hoping for the situation to be defused.”

“In the case of a crisis in Lebanon, an EU plan will be set in motion to evacuate the area of European and third country citizens via Cyprus,” Ioannides said.

This, he said, was not connected to the asylum issue but rather offering “infrastructure to some states so that via Cyprus these people can return to their countries of origin.”

Possible flows of people seeking asylum in the Republic of Cyprus will be addressed by Nafkratis plan, which “has been updated.”

Ioannides said the deputy ministry was ready to handle any crisis.

He added that planning did not represent any permanent migration issues and that the movement of evacuees would be completed within two days at the most.

“Of course, we do not have the capacity to host tens of thousands of people,” he pointed out.

Ioannides added that “regarding migratory flows, there are specific procedures that are followed.”

He said measures implemented by the government since April had reduced the number of migrants arriving on the island, with those arriving by sea having stopped altogether.

“We have zero flows by sea and this gives us the capacity to expedite procedures” for examining asylum applications, Ioannides said.

He added that the measures have also led to the reduction of migrants at reception centres.

Referring to Wednesday’s meeting with his US counterpart, Ioannides said this was a meeting planned a while ago and that they would be discussing issues of mutual interest.

The deputy ministry is also in communication with EU institutions and UN agencies to handle migration.