Cyprus and Lithuania signed a memorandum of cooperation for the relocation of applicants of international protection.
The memorandum was signed Friday, on the sidelines of the Informal Ministerial Meeting on the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, in Nicosia, in the framework of the Cyprus EU Presidency.
An announcement says that the Memorandum was signed by the Deputy Minister of Migration and International Protection, Nicholas Ioannides and Indre Gaspere, Director of the Migration Department under the Ministry of the Interior of Lithuania, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Ana Burkovskiene.
The agreement is part of the solidarity mechanism provided for by the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum and constitutes an essential step for the practical implementation of the principles of shared responsibility and European solidarity.
The announcement says that Cyprus, as a frontline EU member state, continues to face particular pressures due to its geographical location and today’s signing of the Memorandum takes on particular importance, as it is a tangible example of practical support to an EU MS that bears an increased burden.
The relocation of applicants for international protection is one of the main solidarity mechanisms provided for in the new Pact, aiming at a fairer distribution of responsibilities between member states and a more effective management of the pressures faced by first host countries.