The European Commission is in close contact with Cyprus at the highest political and technical level regarding increased irregular arrivals of Syrian asylum seekers from Lebanon, Commission spokesperson for migration, Anitta Hipper, said responding to a question by the Cyprus News Agency during Thursday’s midday briefing in Brussels.
Also, the spokesperson for neighbourhood policy and enlargement, Ana Pisonero, said that the Commission is expected to put forward a new package of funding to enhance the security of the country, and recalled that the EU is supporting an ongoing program towards integrated border management in Lebanon.
‘The Commission is very much aware of the situation involving recent high irregular arrivals from Lebanon to Cyprus’, Hipper said, adding that the European Commission ‘is in close contact with Cyprus at the highest political but also technical level, and stands ready to further support Cyprus in managing this new challenge’.
She also said that the European Commission, along Front
ex, the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) and Europol ‘will continue providing the necessary financial and operational support in this regard’, noting that right now more than 350 staff have been deployed from the Commission, the EUAA, Europol and Frontex, while 255 million euro has been allocated under the Home Affairs Fund until 2027.
Speaking about the actions taken regarding border management in Lebanon, Pisonero said that ‘the Commission is also supporting Lebanon and has been supporting Lebanon over the years in this area’.
‘We have recently adopted in 2023 an additional package worth 7 million euro. And I can tell you that the new package that’s aiming to enhance the security in the country is expected in 2024, but we do not have more details to give you at this stage,’ she added.
‘We do have an ongoing program right now also supporting the integrated border management in Lebanon that’s also worth 7 million euro’ she continued.
In general, Pisonero said, the EU ‘has been providing substantial sup
port to the benefit of Lebanon, actually to be able to deal with the many refugees that it is hosting from Syria’.
She added that the support of the EU to address the impact of the Syrian crisis since 2011 has amounted to 2.6 billion euro which covers both humanitarian and development cooperation assistance, and has contributed to ‘ensuring the delivery of basic services, including access to education and social protection for Syrian refugees in Lebanon’.
Source: Cyprus News Agency