The Republic of Cyprus was commended for the successful management of the migration issue by EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, particularly in relation to returns, an issue in which according to Johansson the country could be an example for other Member States, during the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the EU (JHA) on June 13th and 14th, attended by Minister of Justice and Public Order Marios Hartsiotis. According to an announcement by the Ministry of Justice, in his intervention during the second day of the Council's proceedings Hartsiotis expressed his thanks to the Commission, as well as for the special mention made in a relevant report on Cyprus to the country's successful connection to the Schengen Information System in July 2023. He also expressed Cyprus' support for the priorities set for the Schengen area for the years 2024-2025. During a working lunch, according to the statement, there was an exchange of views on the challenges that the EU has to face in order to strengthen it s crisis preparedness. The Minister suggested that when severe weather events are forecast, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (rescEU) should be used to move the necessary equipment, such as fire-fighting aircraft, from areas that do not seem to be at risk to areas closer to the areas of risk, such as in the case of the EU's own fire-fighting equipment. Hartsiotis also stressed that Cyprus, due to its geographical location, can contribute significantly to the EU's overall crisis response planning. According to the press release, during the first day of the Council the Ministers also discussed the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime, the proposal for a Regulation on preventing and combating the sexual abuse of children through the internet and ways to tackle the phenomenon of abuse by third country nationals of the exemption from the obligation to obtain an entry visa. During the second day of the Council, according to the press release, an important topic of discussion was the proposal for a directive against the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Ministers were asked for their position on whether long limitation periods should be set for the offences concerned and how to deal with material produced by artificial intelligence systems depicting the sexual abuse of children. Hartsiotis supported both the establishment of long limitation periods and the criminalization of depictions of child exploitation through artificial intelligence tools. Also discussed, according to the Ministry of Justice statement, was Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the fight against impunity. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court provided an update on the ongoing procedures for investigating crimes committed in Ukraine. Both Hartsiotis and the representative of Greece recalled that 50 years ago Cyprus was also a victim of equally violent aggression and crimes by Turkey, which still illegally occupies 40% of its territory Source: Cyprus News Agency
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