The success of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU is a success for everyone, said the Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, who briefed the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs on the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency, with the members of the Committee expressing their support for a successful Presidency.
Raouna told the members of the Committee that, 22 days before Cyprus takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the high-level programme had been finalised and that on December 21, President Nikos Christodoulides would present the Presidency's programme in Lefkara, followed by presentations in Brussels and Strasbourg.
The Deputy Minister said that the priority programme was formulated on the basis of the 18-month joint programme of the Presidency trio with Poland and Denmark, the EU's strategic agenda for the next five years, and the issues that each Member State wishes to highlight based on its own characteristics.
Some of the issues that the Cyprus Presidency will promote are migration, housing, the fight against poverty, maritime safety issues, mental health issues, reducing administrative stress for small and medium-sized enterprises, and completing some of the EU's pending free trade agreements with third countries.
Nicosia's goal during its Presidency is also to make progress with regard to candidate countries. As Raouna said, enlargement is "recognised as a geopolitical necessity for the EU," and Nicosia has set up a work plan together with the Commission.
According to the Deputy Minister, Cyprus will inherit 330 legislative and other dossiers from Denmark, which it will negotiate under its Presidency in 190 working groups and subgroups in Brussels. The Republic of Cyprus will negotiate with all Member States on the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – the EU budget and its allocation across all policies for the next seven years.
The Cyprus Presidency will also mark the implementation of the Pact on Asylum and Migration.
During the Cyprus Presidency, as the Deputy Minister said, 261 meetings will be held in Cyprus, 23 of which will be high-level meetings, and an informal European Council will be held on April 23-24, 2026. She added that on April 24, Cyprus is working to host the 10 countries that are part of the "Mediterranean Pact."
There will also be 19 informal ministerial councils, an international ministerial conference, and two ministerial conferences, she added.
Cyprus has also arranged for direct flights between Larnaca and Brussels, which began on December 1 and will operate five flights a week during the Presidency, continuing with fewer flights per week until the end of 2026, Raouna further noted.
(Source: CNA)
