(Politico) Rising numbers of migrants arriving have left Cyprus in “a state of serious crisis,” the country’s President Nikos Christodoulides said Wednesday as he called for the EU to step in.
More than 2,000 people arrived in Cyprus by sea in the first three months of 2024, compared to just 78 in the same period last year, according to Cypriot government data.
Christodoulides called for EU aid to Lebanon to be contingent on it blocking migrants’ departures.
“The EU provides significant financial assistance to Lebanon both for the country itself and for hosting Syrian migrants, and I have asked the [European Commission] president herself to contact the Lebanese authorities,” Christodoulides said, adding that this financial aid cannot be handed over to Lebanon if the migrant flows continue.
