On Sunday (April 21), Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told the German media group RND in an interview that his country was working on an agreement between Lebanon and the EU aimed at stemming the departure of migrants from Lebanese shores.

Cyprus receives most of the migrants leaving Lebanon and Syria because of its proximity in the eastern Mediterranean to the Middle East.

A visit to Lebanon involving Christodoulides and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is planned for May 2, reports the German press agency dpa. During that visit, von der Leyen is expected to announce a concrete financial package, as well as support for Lebanese institutions such as the armed forces to help stabilize the country and manage migration.

A meeting between Cypriot officials and the EU already took place in early April, confirmed the Cypriot government spokesperson Leytimiotis Konnos on his X feed. Konnos said the main topic of the conversation then was: "the management of the increased migration flows from Lebanon in recent days and concrete ways to prevent this phenomenon through more active EU involvement"

Arrivals on Cyprus increase

The Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus voted in 2004 to become a member of the EU, leaving the Turkish-controlled northern part of the island outside the EU. However, when not arriving by boats, migrants also tend to fly in via Turkey, which has a visa-free agreement with the northern part of the country, and subsequently make it over the UN-monitored Green Line towards the Republic and EU territory.

Since the beginning of January, according to data from the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, almost 4,000 migrants (3,812) have arrived on Cyprus. Compared to the numbers of arrivals in Italy, Greece or Spain since January, this seems a relatively low number, but because of the size of Cyprus’ population, the Cypriot authorities often describe the situation as "overwhelming."

Also read: Dozens of migrants continue to arrive in Cyprus, despite policy change

Christodoulides himself described the situation as "critical," reports dpa. In fact, dpa states that the numbers arriving in Cyprus were as if Germany had received 340,000 migrants since January this year.

The main reception center in the center of the country at Pournara is reported as overcrowded. Last July, the European Union announced a funding package of 22 million euros to upgrade facilities at the center, and allow the authorities to carry out screening, identification and registration procedures on newly arrived migrants.

At the time, the center had an official capacity of 1,000 people, but the year before, in November 2022, the EU press release announcing the funding stated that it had hosted around 2,000 people, including 300 unaccompanied minors requiring special care.

Upgrading Pournara reception center

According to the UN Migration Agency IOM, the upgrades should be completed by April 30 this year. Once fully completed, states the IOM press release, the center should be able to accommodate 1,240 people in the main center, with the addition of 960 places in “accommodation containers.”

The upgrades include adding common wash facilities, communal spaces for activities and administration offices to carry out the bureaucratic procedures associated with registration. While the building works were ongoing, the IOM stated that 984 temporary accommodation places were on offer.

Solar water heaters and air conditioning units were supplied by the Ministry of the Interior in Cyprus and the EU Commission office for Home Affairs, added the press release. An internal road network was also constructed within the center. New stormwater pipelines were installed and connected and heating was provided in the temporary accommodation area.

According to the government of Cyprus, the average stay at the center is 15 days. During this time, residents “are not allowed to move outside the center.” However, within the closed reception facilities, catering, social support, medical services and social activities are provided.

The Cypriot government press release on the center, issued two days ago, on April 19, simply states that the upgrade is expected to be completed "in 2024" but does not specify a completion date. However, once completed it should have a "capacity of up to 2,000 people and additional spaces for mass flows."

Also read: Cyprus suspends Syrian asylum applications

Cypriot to cease processing Syrian asylum applications

However, a recent increase in the number of arrivals has put pressure on the center, reported several Cyprus newspapers in the last few weeks, including the Cyprus Mail.

Recently, the Cypriot government announced that they would cease to process asylum applications from Syrians arriving in Cyprus, and has sought to find safe zones within Syria to which Syrians asking for asylum might safely be sent back.

Christodoulides announced the decision on X on April 13. In his post, he said, according to the translation: "Due to the recent mass arrival of Syrian political asylum seekers by sea, and pending developments on the Syrian status reassessment issue, the processing of asylum applications in all cases of persons of Syrian origin is suspended."

Lebanon is just 160 kilometers away from Cyprus and has been rocked by a series of economic and political blows lately, as well as hosting millions of refugees from neighboring conflicts and situations of unrest, including around 1.5 million Syrian refugees. Some of those are among the migrants boarding boats towards Cyprus.

Lebanese citizens too are increasingly finding it hard to make ends meet and more and more in recent years have also been among those arriving in Cyprus. The Lebanese pound has lost more than 95 percent of its value, according to the World Bank.

UNHCR warns Cyprus to act 'in accordance with the law'

In the last year, the EU has already signed new cooperation and support agreements with Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania. The agreements offer the target countries billions of euros in financial aid and investment, as well as support for the authorities to step up their efforts to manage migration, perhaps in the form of patrols and controls, as well as offering more schemes and incentives for citizens of the country to stay in their country of origin, and perhaps find employment there.

Also read: Syrian migrants caught up in Cyprus-Lebanon spat

At the end of last week, the UNHCR warned Cyprus that it should stick to the law, amid reports that Cyprus had stepped up its patrols at sea in a bid to stop boats departing from Lebanon. The authorities in Cyprus had reportedly dispatched police patrol vessels along the border of Lebanon's territorial waters to prevent migrant boats reaching Cyprus, reported the news agency Associated Press (AP).

UNHCR spokesperson for Cyprus Emilia Strovolidou told AP that according to the relatives of some migrants on board boats attempting to reach Cyprus, the Cypriot authorities had "forcibly pushed back" the boats and used "violence" and "techniques to destabilize the boats." Strovolidou said however that the UN was not in a position to confirm these testimonies.

A total of at least five boats carrying hundreds of Syrian citizens were reportedly turned back to Lebanon last week. All those on board disembarked safely, according to AP.

Cyprus government denies operating pushbacks

A Cypriot government official strenuously denied any form of coercion was used, reported AP, and said that the Cypriot government doesn’t engage in pushbacks and acts "fully in accordance with international law."

The anonymous official said that any suggestion that things were otherwise were "lies." The UNHCR’s Lebanon office told AP that more than 220 people had disembarked from boats hoping to reach Cyprus in northern Lebanon on Wednesday. Of those, 110 were already registered as refugees with UNHCR.

Also read: Lebanese media report 84 migrants missing at sea

Human rights activist Saadeddine Shatila, executive director of the Cedar Center for Legal Studies, an organization that tracks migration issues, told AP that his group had information that the Lebanese army had detained and possibly deported Syrians from at least one of the returning boats who weren’t registered as refugees with UNHCR.

Lebanon has reportedly deported Syrians in the past, and has lobbied the international community to help them return and resettle Syrian refugees present in Lebanon. After deportation, some of the Syrians returned to their country reportedly faced detention or torture, states AP.

Lebanon suffers economic and political crisis

The economic crisis in Lebanon has been rumbling for some time, but since October 7, when conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas, the Cypriot authorities have become increasingly worried about the possibility of increases in the number of migrants arriving. Lebanon also hosts very large populations of Palestinians, some of whom have lived in refugee camps in the country for generations.

Perhaps alive to the possibilities of a lucrative new route, migrant smugglers are reportedly "brazenly advertising," reports AP, in Lebanese coffee shops, and offering seats on boats towards Cyprus for about 3,000 dollars per person (about 2,819 euros).

In May, Cyprus is also expected to convene a meeting of EU countries to try and drum up support for the EU to redesignate some parts of Syria as "safe zones." So far, at least Denmark and the Czech Republic have offered support for the idea.

The unnamed Cypriot government official told AP that Denmark was already deporting Syrians from safe zones back to their country and he thought Cyprus should consider doing the same if the number of arrivals continues to increase.

'Trapped in a dangerous game'

The organization Alarm Phone, which tracks migrant journeys towards Europe, posted on its X platform last week that it felt that those hoping to reach Cyprus from Lebanon were "trapped in a cruel and dangerous game between Cyprus and Lebanon and remain at sea with no food or water and in urgent need of help."

The Cypriot government told the news agency Reuters on April 17 that the country’s authorities had taken some measures to "avert arrivals, such as those announced which concern suspending assessment of new asylum applications."

Also read: Syrian migrants describe ordeal between Lebanon and Cyprus

With the suspension in place, reported Reuters, new arrivals would either have to stay in the government reception camp, or live independently, but forfeit any right to benefits.

The UNHCR told Reuters: "While we recognize the challenges that increased arrivals can pose to host countries, we urge the Republic of Cyprus to continue upholding its international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the principle of non-refoulement."

With dpa, AP and Reuters