The first meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) for 2026 and Cyprus Presidency is being chaired on Tuesday by Cyprus' Minister of Finance Makis Keravnos, who, upon arrival at the meeting in Brussels, presented the agenda to the press.
He stressed that the Council will await guidance from the Thursday (22 January) extraordinary European Council, so that EU leaders can indicate the preferred response tools regarding the exceptional US tariffs imposed on the EU over Greenland.
“Today's meeting marks the first ECOFIN Council following the assumption of the Presidency by Cyprus. During this meeting I will have the opportunity to present to my colleagues the priorities of Cyprus,” Keravnos said, presenting the agenda, which includes an update on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
“It is one of the main priorities of our Presidency because, as you know, Cyprus is suffering from military invasion and occupation for 50 years now, so we understand very well the suffering of the people of Ukraine,” he added.
“Today's agenda also includes the conclusions on the Alert Mechanism for 2026, amendments to the implementation of the RRF and, of course, economic governance and any other conclusions that may arise,” the Minister continued, noting that the agenda appears relatively light.
Asked by CNA about discussions on the European Commission’s package of countermeasures against the US, currently suspended, the Minister said he estimated that there will be statements and exchanges of views, while awaiting guidance from Thursday’s extraordinary European Council.
“There may be some discussions and exchanges of views, but, as I have already said, we must wait to see the results of the discussion between the heads of state, and then we will have a specific basis and direction with which we can then hold in-depth discussions and see what measures we could take as European Union,” he said.
Concluding, the Minister stressed that “the important message is that the European Union must remain united and that we remain committed to international law, international rules, and respect for the sovereignty of states.”
(Source: CNA)
