A meeting between the EU and Turkey at the highest level will take place within October to discuss efforts to resume the Cyprus talks and possible progress in EU-Turkey relations, Cyprus President, Nikos Christodoulides, announced upon his arrival on Friday morning for the second day of the EU summit in Brussels.
The President said he was informed on Thursday, following the meetings he held in New York, that ‘within October there will be a meeting of the EU with Turkey at the highest level, so that the two processes can be discussed: the effort to resume talks, but also a possible progress in EU-Turkey relations,’ he added, noting that the meeting will take place ‘at the request of the UN Secretary-General himself, so that we can see how the conditions are created for the resumption of negotiations.’ The President stressed that ‘any progress in EU-Turkey relations depends on the resumption of talks on the basis of the agreed framework.’
This development, he said, ‘combined with the visit of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Cyprus by the end of October can create the conditions for positive developments. Our clear political will is a given, and I repeat that the EU can play a leading role,’ the President said. He recalled that from the first day of taking office he had set as a priority a more active, leading involvement of the EU, and reiterated his satisfaction at the appointment of the Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Raffaele Fitto as the as the European Commission’s Special Representative for Cyprus, a move that ‘clearly shows the EU’s approach to the Cyprus problem,’ as he said.
On the discussion on Thursday at the European Council about Cyprus’ participation in the COP31 climate summit in Antalya, the President said the Commission President, Ursula von der Layen the European Council President, Antonio Costa and the High EU Representative, Kaja Kallas, spoke about this. ‘After the publication of the known statement by the Turkish Cypriot leader, the European Union, on behalf of the 27 member states, contacted the Turkish government. It has received written replies from the Turkish government, and if these replies are implemented in practice, then we are satisfied,’ he said. He went on to say that ‘we will be here and we will see how the whole matter develops. On our side, as the Republic of Cyprus, we are ready to face any scenario.’
Christodoulides also expressed regret over the postponement of the EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. ‘I have a strong conviction that, just as we very rightly do in the case of Ukraine, visiting the country in difficult times, when Russian missiles and Russian drones are striking Ukraine, we must do the same in relation to the countries of the region. As the Republic of Cyprus, we have this clear approach. I will also raise it during the discussion we will have today during the working lunch,’ he stressed.
The President also noted that ‘recently, a few days ago, the Energy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus was the only European minister who attended a relevant energy conference held in Saudi Arabia,’ adding that the postponement of the summit is not a positive development, and ‘we must now see on a bilateral level how we can be there in these countries, to show in practice both our solidarity and our support, especially in difficult times.’
Asked by CNA about the strategic debate on migration, and whether a clash among leaders close to the Spanish elections is helpful, given the particular situation in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the President said that ‘certainly a clash would not be the most correct and best message we send to European citizens, especially on an issue that we know concerns all member states.’ However, ‘there is a significant reduction in all member states, with the Republic of Cyprus in the first place,’ he said, repeating that there has been a 90% reduction in arrivals and a 100% increase in returns compared with 2022.
‘Today we must have a strategic discussion, to see where there are gaps, so that, through this strategic discussion, always in a spirit of cooperation, we see what else we can implement, such as the idea of the European Mechanism, particularly in the event of instrumentalisation of migrants, but certainly not a discussion that will lead to a clash,’ he added.
On the energy discussion, the President said leaders had to go through the conclusions in four different phases before reaching agreement late last night. On the conclusions on ETS2, he said that ‘as the wording stands at the moment, as agreed last night, it satisfies us, and I believe the Commission too has understood the importance, so that there is further postponement, especially of the implementation of ETS2.’ He assessed that citizens and businesses should not be asked to pay ‘at a juncture where there are so many challenges due to energy costs, and indeed from a crisis that nobody can know when it will end.’
On the Multiannual Financial Framework, Christodoulides, commenting on the substantive rejection of the Irish proposal (negotiating box), said that ‘the role of the Irish Presidency is thankless, even more so than in our own case. We had managed to reach agreement on important aspects of the MFF. It is now in the hands of the European Council President.’
On the discussion on new own resources, the President expressed the belief that ‘we will move to a more concrete examination of ideas for more own resources of the European Union, so that there is no further cut, or if there is a further cut, the reduction of the budget is very small.’ Although some member states voiced opposition because of national priorities regarding certain own resources, ‘in general there were also some ideas that are being approached by the 27 with a positive approach,’ he said in closing.