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“National Action Plan on the integration of immigrants”: Our next steps

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Partners of the “National Action Plan on the integration of immigrants” were gathered in Nicosia, on 25th -27th of September 2019, to discuss the project progress. The project started in January 2019 and has a runtime of 46 months. It is co-funded by the AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund) of the European Commission. 

The project aims to:

  • Promote the efficient management of migration flows in the Republic of Cyprus
  • Develop and implement a common strategy for migration

During these days, EEO Group and Opinion & Action Services Ltd conducted in-depth interviews with governmental authorities responsible for the integration of immigrants in the Republic of Cyprus, such as the:

  • European Funds Unit of the Cyprus Ministry of InteriorAsylum Service of the Cyprus Ministry of Interior
  • Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance of Cyprus
  • Cyprus Pedagogical Institute

Cyprus has seen a sharp rise in migrant arrivals in the last 2 years. Syrians represent a quarter of total applicants, while the next largest groups come from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Congo and Cameroon. Despite some improvements, educational attainment levels of immigrants have not increased. More specifically, immigrant children continue to lag behind their peers. 

Public Sector representatives highlighted also the fact that integration must be addressed at the right geographical scale, involving neighbouring municipalities. What is more, they focused on the issue of matching migrant skills with job opportunities. Within this context, the design of the action plan should focus primarily on:

  • The adoption of fast and efficient procedures, which will enhance the current migration strategy
  • The continuous improvement of living conditions of third-country nationals (TCNs) in the Republic of Cyprus
  • The need to pursue greater coherence across different policy domains

Furthermore, EEO Group and Opinion & Action Services Ltd met with the University of Cyprus, to discuss their next steps for the implementation of the project. A lot of work has already been done to map the current situation of immigrants in Cyprus. As a result, our main goal now is to conduct focus groups. It is critical to identify which stakeholders are knowledgeable and can tackle the migration challenge. Focus groups can be used to test solutions, to explore the group's perspective of this issue and to generate ideas.

 

EEO Group was represented by its Development Director, Mr Theodor Grassos and its Consultant, Ms Aspasia Mousoulidi.

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