There is a great opportunity for Europe to take advantage of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU and the informal European Council in April, with the participation of leaders from the region, to discuss how we can work together on a very specific basis, said European Commission Secretary-General Ilze Juhansone, speaking on Friday to members of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee.
Cyprus brings an asset to the EU, which is that it knows the region, she noted, adding that from her personal experience, at European Council meetings, when the President of the Republic of Cyprus speaks on issues in the region, EU leaders listen carefully because they know that he is knowledgeable.
Regarding Europe’s geopolitical strategy, Juhansone said that most open disputes exist in the east of the EU, but that the situation in the eastern Mediterranean is equally important.
In her initial statement, the EU official, who is visiting the country ahead of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU which begins on January 1, said that the Commission’s priorities are the competitiveness of the economy internally and externally, security and defence, and citizens’ problems such as housing and quality of work.
Responding later to views expressed by the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Haris Georgiades, and the attending MPs Giorgos Loucaides and Costis Efstathiou, Juhansone said that there is a common expectation that the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will be completed at the end of 2026 for several reasons.
In response to Georgiades’ observation that there is discontent among national parliaments over the absence of relevant Commissioners from important parliamentary meetings during the various EU Presidencies, the EU official said that she has taken note of the issue and will convey it to Brussels with regard to the two meetings to be held in March on security and foreign policy issues, so that the relevant Commissioners would be present, with Georgiades adding that the Commissioners for Defence and the Mediterranean responded positively.
In response to Loucaides’ observation that Europe is militarizing its economy by spending a lot of money on defence and that this could be detrimental to the welfare state and social cohesion, Juhansone said that Europe cannot forget social welfare and that the European Commission is focusing on issues such as affordable housing, working on relevant proposals, while also focusing on job quality, skills, and labor mobility.
On energy security, she spoke of Russian manipulation of the energy crisis, saying that the EU is vulnerable because it has no energy reserves and is dependent on fuel imports, adding that China also poses obstacles to the creation of energy storage capacities for the EU.
The European official also agreed with Kostis Efstathiou on the use of artificial intelligence (AI), adding that a delicate balance must be maintained between its great potential and the responsibility in its use.
Finally, Georgiades, told the EC Secretary-General that the upcoming EU Presidency will not be affected by parliamentary elections next spring, adding that the House’s program will be compressed to the extent that it is involved as a national parliament in events and activities of the Presidency, as the relevant programme must be completed by the end of March.