EU covers 70% of Cyprus migration costs, minister tells MPs

The EU covers 70% of Cyprus’s migration-related expenses, Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum Dr. Nicholas A. Ioannides told the House Interior Committee today. He also said 200,000 foreign nationals are currently legally resident in Cyprus, and that a 90% drop in migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was observed, which he attributed to those migrants having believed they were heading to central Europe.

Ioannides said asylum seeker arrivals fell by 92% in the first half of 2026 compared with...