Published on
03/06/2026 - 19:45 GMT+2
European Union countries that send rejected asylum seekers to deportation centres in third countries will need to explore "more tangible" human rights safeguards, Cyprus' Deputy Minister for Migration, Nicholas Ioannides, has told Euronews.
His comments come days after the bloc approved sweeping new measures aimed at accelerating migrant returns as part of a wider move that has been hailed as the sharpest pivot in EU migration policy in decades.
"We don't want to punish these people," Minister Ioannides told Euronews’ interview programme 12 Minutes With. "We just want to make sure that those who have no right to remain in the European Union will depart."
