European Climate Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, and Cyprus’s Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panayiotou, denounced on Thursday Cyprus’s exclusion from preparatory meetings for the COP31 World Climate Conference held in New York and Tokyo. The Conference will be hosted by Turkey. Moreover, Panayiotou called for timely EU action should Cyprus not be invited to the Conference itself.
Speaking during a joint press conference with Panayiotou, following the Environment Council meeting, Hoekstra said that on COP31, “any divergence between member states in terms of how they are treated is unacceptable to the Union. This is a conference organised by the UN. And if you decide to apply and become the host, there is no room for national diplomacy. You either decide not to organise, or you decide to organise – and if you decide to organise, that comes with certain obligations,” the Commissioner stressed. He added that the Union would be “absolutely clear with the Turkish presidency, with the Australians, and also with the UN” regarding its position on the matter.
Asked what the “full solidarity” expressed by member states actually means in practice, and whether it could translate into a boycott of preparatory meetings, Hoekstra said that “we are a Union of 27, full stop.” He added that “we’re not going to accept it, whether it’s small issues or bigger ones. It’s a matter of principle, but there are 27 member states that need to be treated the same way.”
The Commissioner recalled that the issue had already been raised directly with the Turkish side in recent months, when the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, was in Brussels, noting that “we were clear with the Turkish Ambassador to the UN,” and pointing out that there had been “lapses” in the type of invitations that should have been extended for previous meetings.
“We have flagged each and every time beforehand what is acceptable and what is not, and that is why we have been so clear in our communication to the UN, to the Australians, to Ankara, because this is a Union of 27. And to make absolutely sure this message is heard, I have conveyed it once again to the UN,” he added.
In her remarks, Minister Panayiotou said the Cyprus Presidency worked on COP31 preparations “despite the obstacles imposed by the COP31 host country, Turkey, on our participation in preparatory meetings. Such actions are not compatible with the principles of inclusiveness and equal treatment that underpin the UN system and the UNFCCC process. We therefore welcomed the strong support and solidarity expressed by Member States and EU institutions, reaffirming that the exclusion of an EU and UN member state from a UN Conference is unacceptable,” she noted.
“Since the start of the preparatory meetings hosted by Turkey, Cyprus has not been invited to participate in any of them,” the Minister noted. The Presidency’s concerns are based on information indicating that Turkey intends to invite only 26 of the EU’s 27 member states to COP31 and to the Leaders’ Summit, excluding Cyprus.
“This situation is unacceptable and inconsistent with Turkey’s responsibilities as host country of COP31. As host, Turkey must invite all UN Member States, including Cyprus, which also holds a coordinating role as Presidency of the Council of the Union,” the Minister said, adding that Turkey’s approach “is contrary to the fundamental principles of inclusiveness and equal treatment that underpin the UN system and the UNFCCC process, and is therefore unacceptable.”
Panayiotou called for immediate mobilisation by EU institutions. “If the Republic of Cyprus is not invited in time, then EU institutions and member states must engage without delay with the Turkish authorities and convey a very clear message that the non-invitation of an EU and UN Member State to a United Nations Conference is unacceptable,” she stressed, expressing satisfaction with the support already received from EU institutions and member states.
Summarising the Presidency’s position, the Minister said member states had called for “a clear message to Turkey that the non-invitation of an EU and UN member state is unacceptable, and today we discussed that there were many member states that spoke out strongly on this, including the Commission,” adding that “ensuring the unity of the European Union and a coordinated response is essential to safeguarding both the integrity of the process and the interests of the Union as a whole.”
On the Union’s broader strategy ahead of the Conference, Hoekstra said what is needed is “long-term reform paired with short-term pragmatism,” thanking the Cyprus Presidency “for all the work and the conversations we’ve had on substance, on how to move forward, on how to have the conversation with our friends from Australia, but also with the UN, about this process.”
The Commissioner noted the broad agreement that the Union should “go all in on electrification,” that the energy transition “is indeed accelerating,” and that the aim is to use COP31 “as an opportunity to show how the Paris Agreement is being implemented.” As he put it, “implementation is the name of the game,” while member states will host pavilions to showcase investments in green technologies, sending the message that the European Union is “a reliable partner across the board.”
Hoekstra stressed the need for a “united front at COP31,” and to “be ambitious, but also firm on what we want.” He also clarified that “this year is not about finance,” something that, he said, had come through clearly in today’s Council discussion as well.