Efforts to increase the number of migrants returned from the European Union to their countries of origin will dominate discussions at this week’s EU Home Affairs Council, Cyprus’ deputy migration minister has said.
Deputy Minister for Migration Nikolas Ioannidis said the upcoming meeting in Brussels will examine a new legislative framework on returns. The goal, he noted, is to establish a more coherent and comprehensive legal basis for repatriations across the bloc.
Ioannidis said migrant arrivals to Cyprus in the first two months of 2026 are lower than during the same period last year. He added that more than 12,000 people were repatriated in 2025.
Departures continue at an intensive pace, he said, supported by ongoing police operations and arrests aimed at enforcing return decisions.