The House of Representatives plenary passed a bill, on Thursday evening granting, among other things, the power for the revocation of international protection status for persons who fall under exclusion grounds.
The bill amended the Refugee Act, with the aim of modernising the international protection system and setting out a clearer distribution of responsibilities following the establishment of the Deputy Ministry of Migration and International Protection.
Specific powers are transferred to the Cabinet, the Deputy Minister or the Head of the Asylum Service and a ten-day deadline is introduced for submitting positions before the final revocation, in line with a European Directive.
The bill was approved with 27 votes in favour and 15 against, by AKEL, the Green Party and Nicosia MPs Kostis Efstathiou and Alexandra Attalides.
The debate before the plenary was held in conditions of controversy and the political parties had different approaches on migration in general.
After the vote the Deputy Ministry welcomed the outcome, noting in a press release that the amended legislation enhances the institutional framework on the management of asylum matters and harmonises national legislation with European legislation.
( Source: CNA)
