EU interior ministers discuss deportations to Syria and Afghanistan
Nicosia (APA) – At an informal meeting in Cyprus on Thursday, the EU interior ministers discussed returns, especially to Syria and Afghanistan. “It is extremely important to advance the issue of deportations at the European level as well,” said Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) at the start of the meeting in Nicosia. “Returns remain a central challenge,” said EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner, according to a statement.
According to Brunner, the EU return rate rose to 27 percent in 2025 – up from 19 percent at the beginning of the previous year, but “that is still far from enough.” Deportations to Syria are also taking place, for example with the support of Frontex: “We had almost 10,000 voluntary returns to Syria in total, which Frontex supported,” said Brunner. The EU is working closely with the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to improve the situation on the ground and is supporting this financially with 620 million euros for 2026 and 2027. The aim is to enable returns while at the same time ensuring stability in the countries of origin and neighboring countries.
“Many member states are very interested in how Austria, as the first European country, has managed to carry out direct deportations to Afghanistan and Syria,” said Karner. Last year, around 1,000 Syrians left Austria, both through voluntary departure and through deportations to Syria and to other European states. “Currently, around 10,000 asylum procedures of Syrians are being reassessed,” said Karner.
Cyprus’s accession to Schengen also on the agenda
Cyprus’s Schengen perspective was also an issue. “Cyprus is on a very good path,” said Commissioner Brunner. He referred to ongoing technical evaluations and improvements already implemented. The accession process follows clear deadlines and criteria, and in the end the European Commission will report “whether Cyprus is ready or not.” Schengen is “an important factor for the security of Europe as a whole.” (01/22/2026)
