The EU is prepared to provide additional assistance to Cyprus as the Mediterranean island grapples with a significant increase in refugees arriving from Lebanon, a spokesperson for the EU executive informed reporters on Thursday (4 April).
“The European Commission is closely coordinating with Cyprus at both political and technical levels and is ready to offer further support to Cyprus in addressing this new challenge,” stated Anitta Hipper, the EU executive’s spokesperson on home affairs and migration, during a press briefing in Brussels.
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Hipper mentioned that EU agencies, such as border agency Frontex and police group Europol, will “continue providing the necessary financial and operational support”, with 350 EU agency staff currently deployed at the Cypriot frontier.
Lebanon has been severely impacted by the refugee crisis stemming from Syria’s long-lasting civil war. The country currently hosts an estimated 1.5m Syrian refugees, according to the UNHCR.
In the face of a political crisis lasting over a year, Cyprus declared a “state of serious crisis” due to the recent surge in migrant numbers arriving from Lebanon, as reported by Nicosia’s president Nikos Christodoulides on Wednesday.
A total of 2,004 individuals arrived in Cyprus by sea in the first three months of this year, compared to just 78 during the same period in 2023, according to data from the Cypriot government.
Cyprus is seeking EU aid to Lebanon on the condition that it helps halt the migrant outflow, stated Cyprus’s interior minister Constantinos Ioannou.
The EU has provided €2.6bn in development and humanitarian assistance to Lebanon since 2011.
The EU Commission’s international partnerships spokesperson, Ana Pisonero, mentioned that the EU is collaborating with Lebanon on border control policies and anticipates a new agreement later this year, without providing further details.
During a visit to Cyprus on 22 March, EU Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas suggested that the EU could engage in negotiations with Lebanon on a migrant control agreement similar to the €7.4bn pact recently made with Egypt.
Cypriot president Christodoulides is scheduled to meet EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in Athens during Greece’s ruling New Democracy party conference over the weekend.
