Member states have the opportunity to expand the examination of asylum applications if a large number of people arrive, a representative of the Commission said on Tuesday in a written response when a relevant decision was announced by the Cypriot side at the weekend.
Answering clarification questions on Tuesday as part of the midday meeting of the editors, the responsible representative of the Commission, Anita Hipper, explained that this possibility is expected for a period of up to nine months within the framework of the directive on procedures asylum, also saying “the country of origin should be reviewed”.
In particular, in a written response to a question about the weekend’s developments, a representative of the Commission says that the European Commission is “fully aware of the situation regarding the high number of illegal arrivals regularly from Lebanon to Cyprus recently”.
“The Commission is in close contact with Cyprus, at the highest political and technical level,” he said, adding that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had a recent telephone conversation with President Christodoulidis on Sunday, April 14.
“We understand that the intention is to temporarily suspend the consideration of applications. According to EU law, member states have the opportunity to extend the examination of applications in case of a large number of entries,” he said.
Responding on Tuesday, at the editors’ briefing in Brussels, to clarify questions about the legal basis of the decision under EU law, Ms Hipper replied that a ban on the examination of applications “is possible under the rules on procedures sanctuary, and indeed. this extension can last up to nine months. But of course the country of origin should also be re-evaluated.”
Source: KYPE
