#22 Cyprus on the Edge: Migration, Conflict, and the EU’s Border Dilemma – with Eleni Mavrou

Get the enhanced episode transcript here 👉🏻 https://www.emmanuel-comte.eu/product/enhanced-transcript-22/.

In this episode, Emmanuel Comte speaks with Eleni Mavrou—former Interior Minister of Cyprus and the first female mayor of Nicosia—to examine how migration is governed in a divided EU member state. They discuss the realities of asylum seekers, undeclared labor, housing crises, and religious tensions in the buffer zone city of Nicosia. Mavrou shares unique insights into EU-Cyprus migration policy, the role of the Green Line, and how Cyprus’s exclusion from the Schengen Area complicates its position as a gateway to Europe. With rising pressure on the Eastern Mediterranean route, this testimony sheds light on a critical yet overlooked frontier in European migration governance.

This interview was arranged and edited by Andriana Lagoudes. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No 101034403.