Deputy Minister of Culture Vasiliki Kassianidou is expected to present the priorities of the Cypriot Presidency at the Council of Ministers for Culture and Sport. In a doorstep statement, she told reporters that Cyprus will place culture at the forefront and intends to advance discussions on cultural-heritage rights and protection, as well as on safeguarding the media.
At the outset, Kassianidou thanked the Danish Presidency for the work it has carried out over the past six months, with the Deputy Minister presenting the three main issues on which the Cypriot Presidency will focus.
‘First, we will place culture at the heart of the discussions. We will promote and support the signing of the joint declaration on culture prepared by the Commissioner,’ Kassianidou stressed.
‘We hope that during our Presidency we will complete this task and begin negotiations on the new work program, Agora EU, because culture lies at the core of common European values,’ she added.
With regard to the second priority point, she noted that ‘Cyprus will promote discussions on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage, especially on the issue of the illicit trafficking of cultural goods, because our cultural heritage is what unites us; it is the glue that holds all European countries together.’
‘We will promote discussions on the protection of the media and independent reporting, and we will do whatever is necessary to complete the work that has begun during the Danish Presidency,’ she concluded.