The European Affairs Secretariat, established in the context of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU, will not cease operations at the end of July as initially planned, but will continue to function as a coordination structure for European affairs in Cyprus, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna said in an end-of-presidency interview with Euractiv.
According to the Deputy Minister, the Secretariat will continue operating in a more permanent form as a national coordination mechanism for EU affairs.
In the interview, Raouna dismissed the notion that smaller EU member states are more vulnerable to pressure. ‘Never,’ she said when asked whether Cyprus is treated as more easily influenced due to its size. ‘We are quite resilient when it comes to pressure. This is how our diplomacy has evolved,’ she added.
Referring to Cyprus’ historical and geopolitical context, she stressed that recent European developments have helped raise awareness of what occupation on European territory means. ‘The last months have also shed light for everyone in the EU – giving a very first-hand understanding of what occupation on European territory means,’ she said.
She also linked Cyprus’ experience to its stance on Ukraine, noting that ‘Cyprus has been very hands-on [regarding] Ukraine, also because we have this unique perspective on the devastating consequences.’
In her assessment of the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU, Raouna underlined that the size of a member state does not determine its contribution to the EU: ‘The size of a country has never determined the size of its contribution to the European Union,’ she said.
Raouna also described the large-scale mobilisation of the public administration during the Presidency and progress achieved on key EU files, including enlargement and policies on Ukraine and Moldova.