Arriving at the Nicosia conference that ushered in the EU’s asylum-and-migration pact, Cypriot Migration Minister Nicholas Ioannides cautioned that it will be “at least a year” before the new rules work as intended across all Member States. Ioannides noted that several countries have yet to complete domestic legislation or build the screening facilities required by the pact. Cyprus itself has fast-tracked bills on accelerated border procedures and reception-centre standards, but is still recruiting 150 additional asylum officers and upgrading IT links to Eurodac. The minister’s realism contrasts with Brussels’ more upbeat messaging, yet was echoed later in the day when the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) emphasised that today’s entry into application marks “the end of the transition period, not the end of the work”. For companies relocating staff within Europe, a prolonged bedding-in phase means continued variance in processing times for family-reunification and intracompany-transfer permits. Immigration advisers recommend building extra lead-time into assignment planning and monitoring each host country’s legislative calendar.
Source: ANP / ZeelandNet
