Cyprus Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides, will participate in the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on October 1 in Luxembourg.
According to a press release issued by the Deputy Ministry, during the Council meeting, Ministers will exchange views on increasing the returns of people who have no right to stay in the EU by further strengthening cooperation with priority third countries on readmission.
At the same time, the European Commission will brief Ministers on the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, following its entry into application on June 12, 2026.
Ministers will also discuss ways to improve the EU’s awareness of the migration situation and its early warning mechanisms, including addressing potential crisis situations.
They will also examine the overall situation in the Schengen area, with a focus on strengthening information sharing and using technological developments to enhance EU security.
The European Commission and the eu-LISA Agency will brief Ministers on the implementation of interoperability among the EU’s large-scale information systems in the area of justice and home affairs.
On the sidelines of the Council meeting, the Deputy Minister will hold bilateral meetings with Finland’s Minister of the Interior, Mari Rantanen, Austria’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, and the Netherlands’ Minister for Asylum and Migration and Deputy Prime Minister, Bart van den Brink.
The bilateral meetings will focus on issues of common interest in the area of migration, including implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, returns and cooperation with third countries, as well as the Republic of Cyprus’ efforts to fully join the Schengen Area, the press release said.
Ioannides will return to Cyprus on Friday, October 2.