• Ten European Union countries have agreed to participate in a migrant relocation scheme.
• This is aimed at reducing the strain on the five so-called front EU members in the Mediterranean.
• Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy, and Spain are currently bearing the brunt of rising migrant numbers.

NICOSIA: Ten European Union (EU) countries have agreed to participate in a migrant relocation scheme aimed at reducing the strain on the five so-called front EU members in the Mediterranean, according to Cypriot Interior Minister Nicos Nouris on Wednesday.

In the face of rising arrivals in the five frontline states of Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy, and Spain, Nouris said this was a positive development, but he urged additional EU countries to join the plan.

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According to him, this would be a more than 100 percent increase over last year, with Cyprus alone expecting 20,000 illegal migrants this year.

The ministry stated, 10,000 migrants arrived in the first five months of this year, representing a 213 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

In the first five months of this year, 13,668 migrants landed in the EU via the eastern Mediterranean route.

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These figures, according to Frontex, do not include Ukrainians fleeing conflict zones.