Cyprus believes Portugal can ‘deal successfully’ with EU migration pact

The Foreign Minister of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said on Wednesday that “there is no better member state of the EU than Portugal to deal successfully” with negotiations on the European Pact on Migration and Asylum.

The Cypriot minister was speaking at a joint press conference with his Portuguese counterpart, Augusto Santos Silva, after a working meeting in Lisbon in which, among other issues, the migration negotiations were discussed.

“I am sure that Portugal, as a Mediterranean country, understands very well the concerns surrounding border countries and the problem we have with migration”, Christodoulides began by saying, considering that the EU needs to address this issue with “a holistic approach, especially with African countries”.

The Cypriot minister congratulated Portugal on its fourth EU Council presidency, assuring that “Cyprus is committed to being a source of support” on which the Portuguese government can rely over the next six months.

“As far as the EU is concerned, we believe that Portugal is one of the countries in which we can most rely. During our deliberations, I had the opportunity to reaffirm our support for the priorities of the Portuguese presidency of the EU, specifically our common confidence in a stronger Europe based on democratic principles and solidarity”, he stressed.

Last September, the European Commission presented a proposal for a new pact on migration and asylum, the negotiations for which now fall to the Portuguese presidency of the EU Council, which began on 1 January and will extend into the first half of 2021.