Cypriot MP Athena Kyriakidou presented a report regarding immigrants on Wednesday at the plenary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which then adopted a resolution that notes that all member states of the Council of Europe should do more in order to make sure that the benefits from the immigrants can be increased.
Presenting the report, Kyriakidou said that often the opinion that immigrants are a burden to the societies hosting them is expressed, noting that data indicates that this is not the case, on the contrary the immigrants contribute positively to those societies.
Kyriakidou pointed out that whether immigrants are a burden or an advantage is up to each state, adding that immigrants contribute to the labour market by covering the lack of manpower in various sectors, or taking on jobs that are sometimes dangerous or not well-paid.
The PACE resolution encourages the member states to present a fair and objective portrait of fiscal and other effects from the presence of immigrants, as regards work, entrepreneurship, demography, higher and university education, and culture.
It furthermore calls on the member states to encourage the media to present unbiased reports and information, and discourage the cultivation of extremist views.
The resolution also calls for action to combat discrimination and to provide assistance, especially to Mediterranean countries, which receive large waves of immigrants, even more so when they do not have the necessary infrastructure or financial means to address the phenomenon effectively