Europol is closely monitoring the situation in Cyprus and other frontline migration states and will develop emergency plans if needed, Deputy Executive Director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe told parliamentarians.
Speaking at the 15th Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group meeting on Europol during the Hungarian EU Council presidency, Lecouffe confirmed that Europol currently has five officials stationed in Cyprus and would increase this number if necessary.
The comments came in response to questions from Cypriot MP Chrysanthos Savvides about whether EU member states would accept fair migrant redistribution based on country size, and if the EU would impose sanctions on Turkey for not implementing its readmission agreement.
Savvides highlighted that Cyprus’s migration challenges stem partly from “Turkey’s weaponisation of migration” and the channelling of irregular migrants through occupied territories across the ceasefire line into government-controlled areas.
This, he said, severely impacts Cyprus’s housing, education and healthcare systems.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has criticised Cypriot authorities for pushing back asylum seekers to the UN buffer zone, despite repeated objections.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in June also accused Cypriot authorities of pushing back people to the buffer zone after they entered the Pournara reception centre to apply for asylum.
In a separate intervention on cybercrime and artificial intelligence (AI), MP Elias Myrianthous raised concerns about Europol’s recent “Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment” report.
He noted growing EU concern about criminals’ use of AI, citing millions of victims targeted across the EU in 2023, with many perpetrators being minors.
Myrianthous questioned whether law enforcement agencies would be adequately equipped when the EU’s AI Regulation takes effect in August 2026.
He also inquired about potential EU funding for member states’ AI technology development, comparing the situation to major investments made by the US and China.
(with information from CNA)
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