President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, highlighted five key issues upon his arrival at the European Council on Thursday in Brussels with the first one being the need for further flexibility in adopting national measures on energy costs and the suspension of the implementation of the Emissions Trading System 2 (ETS 2). He also insisted on the need for a political agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) by the end of the year, and pointed to December as the month of developments on Cyprus’s accession to Schengen.
On energy costs, Christodoulides noted that ‘our request is simple and clear: the need for the European Union to show further flexibility in allowing national measures, but at the same time a further suspension of the implementation of ETS 2, is something that several member states are asking for. We will support it,’ he added.
Referring to the illegal Turkey-Turkish Cypriot pseudostate “memorandum of cooperation”, he said the issue would be raised in the energy discussion, together with the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection (GSI). ‘We will refer to the geopolitical, energy and economic importance of the GSI, and we will also refer to Turkey’s illegal efforts in relation to this matter,’ he added.
On the MFF, the President welcomed the new proposal of the EU Irish Presidency, which builds on the proposal submitted during the Cyprus Presidency. ‘The first thing I want to say is that of course we understand and support the need to strengthen new EU policies, Defence and Security, Competitiveness, Migration, but at the same time this must not come at the expense of the Common Agricultural Policy, the Cohesion Fund, Cohesion Policy, from which European citizens benefit,’ he noted.
Christodoulides expressed hope for progress and said he expects an extraordinary summit in November. ‘I hope that today we will have substantial progress. I believe there will also be an extraordinary European Council in November. There are some political developments, such as the elections in Spain, the result in Sweden, which may create some issues for us. It is essential that we have a political agreement by the end of the year, otherwise things will clearly become more difficult and I believe we will send a negative message both to European citizens and to the world in general,’ he added.
Asked by CNA whether the MFF discussion should be ‘unlocked’ by new own resources, the President replied that ‘for us, the MFF discussion is primarily a political discussion, it is not an economic discussion. It is a political discussion which must reflect the EU’s priorities for the next period, and we know very well where we need to focus.’
He then referred to political developments in member states, noting that ‘the second political element of this discussion is the fact that we do not have a government in Sweden. Efforts are underway to form a government, with nothing ruled out.’
In addition, ‘at the same time there are the elections in Spain. We don’t know the result, we don’t know whether it will be possible to form a government. And at the same time, in 2027, elections in France, in Italy, in Poland, possibly in other member states. So it is very important that an agreement is reached before the end of the year,’ he noted.
On the shaping of the package, the President referred to an 8% reduction by the Irish compared with the Commission’s proposal. ‘It is not something we agree with, but, because at the end of the day it is a compromise, I believe this reduction will increase a little more, we will have a double-digit reduction: 10%, 11%, 12%, but the most important thing is to have a political agreement by the end of the year,’ he said.
He noted that the MFF would dominate the discussions. ‘I believe the MFF will dominate. We have a new negotiating framework before us and, of course, the issue of energy, which relates to the EU’s competitiveness, and the cost that families and businesses are called on to bear from a prolonged and unprecedented crisis,’ he said.
Referring to Lebanon, the President welcomed ‘the decision to set up an EU mission. As the Republic of Cyprus, we are ready for our country to be used as the operational hub, given the proximity to Lebanon, the external relations with Lebanon, but we also have the infrastructure for training,’ he said.
‘You know the CYCLOPS Training Centre, which was established in the Republic of Cyprus together with the United States. It has already trained people from 50 countries in the region. We are ready to take on this very important role,’ the President noted.
On migration, he said Cyprus’s actions ‘can be used as a model’, as they ‘have led to a reduction of more than 90% in arrivals – a 180% increase in returns, always compared with 2022.’ He also expressed support for a European emergency mechanism, which the Commission is expected to propose, ‘especially when we see instances of instrumentalisation, we saw many countries instrumentalising migration.’
On Cyprus’s accession to the Schengen area, he said that, as he has already done with Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, he would have the opportunity to discuss with his counterparts Cyprus’s application for full accession. ‘All the technical processing has already been completed and we hope that within December the issue will be discussed at the competent council, so that the final political decisions can be taken,’ he said.
Asked about the Trump-Putin agreement and the fact that the EU was neither informed nor party to it, Christodoulides told CNA that ‘certainly it is something that will be discussed, it is something that concerns us. It would clearly have been better if there had been coordination between the United States and the European Union on this matter. Our priority is to look at our own house, what we do as the European Union, as member states, and that is why we clearly support further flexibility on the part of the European Union in relation to the adoption of national measures,’ he noted.
On China and competitiveness, he expressed that belief ‘taking into account the discussion we had here in the European People’s Party”, that “there is a clearly stronger common approach on how the European Union should approach China. So we do not expect particularly difficult discussions on this issue.’
Asked about the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed and the war front extending to the Red Sea with the Houthis, the President replied: ‘I expect us all to move in the same direction,’ pointing first to ‘measures with immediate impact on citizens, primarily on households, families, businesses.’
Second, he cited institutional measures that cannot be implemented immediately because of the preparatory work required, but ‘which will help the European Union reduce its dependence on the region. And it is within this framework that we will also refer to the GSI, the importance of the GSI, of the interconnection of member states.’
Third, ‘which at least we in Cyprus are moving towards, is strengthening citizens’ disposable income so that they can respond, among other things, to the new challenges,’ he added.
On the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, the President said confirmation is expected on whether it will take place. ‘If the summit takes place, Cyprus will be there, and what we are aiming out of this summit is to have concrete deliverables that we will bring the region, the Gulf, and the European Union closer together,’ he note.
He recalled that ‘that was one of our main priorities during our Presidency,’ noting that an informal meeting was held in Cyprus with the participation of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Syria, where Cyprus was ‘a strong advocate’ of the EU coming much closer to the region. He added that ‘until this moment, we don’t have a final decision.’
On the EU as a security provider in the Gulf, he said that ‘of course we need to be a security provider in the Middle East, in the Gulf. Our security, the security of the Gulf, the security of the European Union are linked, so we need to work together and have a much more active role also in security but in other aspects.’
Asked in conclusion whether Cyprus would welcome Britain back into the EU, Christodoulides replied that ‘if Britain is ready to come back, we’re ready to welcome them.’