European Council President Antonio Costa praised the importance of the Cyprus Presidency for strengthening EU relations with neighbouring countries in the region.
The comment was made on 15 September in his statements to the media after a working lunch with the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, at the Presidential Palace, in Nicosia.
President Nikos Christodoulides, on his part, welcomed President Costa's initiative to visit European capitals and reiterated that Cyprus, during its Presidency, will act as an honest mediator and will close the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) file as soon as possible.
President: “Our goal is to act as an honest broker”
President Christodoulides welcomed Antonio Costa’s initiative for a tour of European capitals. He stated that he had a very good discussion on a series of issues related to the upcoming assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union by Cyprus. “Our goal is to work closely with you and your team, with the Commission, with the European Parliament and all Member States, to act - and this is what we will do - as an honest broker, in order to further promote European integration, European autonomy, making our Union even stronger in a world full of challenges, which we aspire to both face and transform into opportunities”, he stressed.
In this context, President Christodoulides reported that some of the key files that the Cyprus Presidency will manage were discussed, such as the new Multiannual Financial Framework.
Furthermore, the President of the Republic stressed the importance of reaching a timely agreement and for the European Union budget to reflect the current priorities of the Union, but also to ensure traditional important policies, such as Cohesion Policy.
Referring to the areas of defence and security, he welcomed with particular satisfaction the fact that as “the EU, for the first time under the leadership of Antonio (Costa) and Ursula (von der Leyen), we have moved forward with specific initiatives, we have escaped from discussions, we have gone a step further to strengthen our defence capabilities”. As he said, “Cyprus has taken advantage of these new opportunities, such as the SAFE tool, with the aim of strengthening our own defence capabilities, strengthening the deterrent power of our country, but at the same time strengthening the strategic autonomy of the EU”.
Referring to the area of competitiveness of the European Union, the President of the Republic noted that “during our Presidency we will work, among other things, to reduce bureaucracy and administrative burdens for the benefit of European businesses and especially small and medium-sized enterprises, which constitute the backbone of our economies”.
President Christodoulides reiterated Cyprus’ clear position on Ukraine. “Our position remains firm that there can be no sustainable peace in Ukraine without respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the country,” he stressed.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, he said that Cyprus, as the member state representing the European Union in the region and with excellent relations with all the states of the region, will make use of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, “with the sole aim of bringing Europe closer to our neighbourhood.”
Finally, the President of the Republic stated that he informed Antonio Costa about the latest developments in the Cyprus problem, the effort of the Greek Cypriot side to resume negotiations on the basis of the agreed framework, the presence of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for the Cyprus problem, Maria Angela Holguin, as well as an upcoming meeting in New York after the end of the United Nations General Assembly.
He then thanked the President of the European Council “for the clear position of both himself and the European Union, as well as for the readiness of the European Union for practical and substantive involvement at all stages of the process”, as evidenced by the appointment of Johannes Hahn by the European Commission and by the joint letter of Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen to the UN Secretary-General, ahead of the enlarged conference in Geneva.
Costa: “The EU relies on the Cyprus Presidency”
On his part, Costa said, among other things, that his visits to the EU Member States are very important, because it is important to bring the EU institutions closer to the citizens, but also to engage with the leaders.
He added that the upcoming Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus is “very important and comes at a critical moment for peace in Europe, where we need to manage the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where we need to increase our investment in our own security – and security means (increasing) our defence capability and protecting our citizens and our societies”. He pointed out that in this context he welcomes the announcement by the President of the Commission to establish a Fire Fighting Hub in Cyprus.
President Costa also noted that the EU counts on the Cyprus Presidency, among other things, to reduce bureaucracy, to invest in innovation and to develop the single market.
He also pointed out that “we count on Cyprus to ensure that Europe engages more with the Mediterranean and the Middle East. You are in a geostrategic position, very important for the EU as a whole and we rely on you to strengthen our relationship with our neighbours”, praising Cyprus’ position regarding Gaza and the sea corridor for the provision of humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Gaza.
SAFE open to third countries that do not threaten member states
In response to a journalist’s remark that developments require the strengthening of the European Union’s defence, the President of the Republic said that “the strengthening of the deterrent power of the Republic of Cyprus is one of the main priorities of our government”.
At the same time, he expressed satisfaction because, through programmes such as SAFE, “the European Union recognises the need to strengthen the member states, to strengthen the autonomy of the European Union”.
Furthermore, the President of the Republic expressed particular joy that an amount exceeding one billion euros has been decided for the Republic of Cyprus within the framework of the SAFE programme.
Replying to a question about Turkey, he noted that the participation of any third country requires a defence agreement with the European Union, that is, the consent of all 27 member states. At the same time, he stressed that “we cannot finance, give European Union resources to third countries that threaten member states of the European Union”.
On his part, Antonio Costa said, among other things, that “the rules of the SAFE programme are very clear. It is open to third countries, but to third countries that do not represent a threat for the security of each member state. States that attack or threaten the security of a member state cannot be allowed to use SAFE”, he noted. “To use SAFE, third countries need to sign a defence agreement that must be approved by all member states,” he stressed.
He also pointed out that NATO is a defence military organisation, while the EU is not, adding that until a few years ago, no one in the EU spoke about defence issues, but that has changed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finally, the President of the Republic said on his part that through EU programmes, such as SAFE, cooperation between member states is promoted, as well as between defence industries in EU member states, and the goal is to build, within the framework of the EU’s strategic autonomy, the European security architecture that includes the security of all member states.
(Source: CNA)
