During Friday’s European Council discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), there was clear recognition of the work carried out by the Cyprus EU Presidency on one of the European Union’s most difficult and politically demanding dossiers, according to sources.
Both the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission thanked the Cypriot Presidency for its handling of the negotiations.
According to information obtained by the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Member States, despite their disagreements, acknowledged that there is a foundation upon which discussions can proceed, while also highlighting the balance achieved by the Cyprus Presidency.
Sources said that today’s European Council discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework clearly recognised the work undertaken by the Cyprus Presidency on one of the Union’s most difficult and politically sensitive dossiers.
The Cyprus Presidency was noted to have delivered two significant outcomes: a mature negotiating framework containing the first concrete figures, and secondly, political agreements within the Council on three critical sectoral proposals – the National and Regional Partnership Plans, the European Competitiveness Fund, and Global Europe. The combined significance of these two achievements is decisive, as they move the negotiations from the stage of general principles to that of genuine political bargaining, it was noted.
It was further noted that President of the European Council, António Costa’s reference to the political agreements on the three key instruments as ‘very good news’ confirms that the progress achieved is not limited to the overarching MFF negotiating framework but also concerns the modernisation of the structure and architecture of the next European budget.
The same sources stressed that the President of the European Council’s expression of gratitude towards the Cypriot Presidency and the Member States for their constructive spirit carries particular political significance. His reference to ‘important progress’, constitutes institutional recognition that the Cyprus Presidency succeeded in advancing one of the Union’s most challenging dossiers despite the well-known divergences among Member States, it was noting, adding that this is particularly significant because the MFF remains a negotiation requiring unanimity, involving strong national interests, differing fiscal starting points, and varying political priorities.
According to the same sources, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave an even clearer political dimension to the progress achieved. She thanked the Cypriot Presidency for its ‘skillful steer and progress’ in managing the negotiations and linked Friday’s developments to the Informal European Council Summit held in Nicosia. Her reference to a ‘new architecture we never had before’, it was noted, is especially important because it acknowledges that the debate on the new MFF concerns not only the volume of funding but also the way in which the next European budget will be organised.
Regarding the opening remarks of President Christodoulides, sources said that he emphasised that the negotiating framework is not a document designed to satisfy one side alone but rather an effort to strike a balance between divergent positions. From the outset, he noted, it was understood that negotiations on the MFF would represent one of the most difficult – if not the most difficult – challenges of the Cyprus Presidency. The Presidency, the same sources said, set itself two specific objectives: to introduce figures into the discussion for the first time and to secure political agreements on the three key sectoral proposals. Both objectives were achieved, the sources said.
According to the same sources, the President of the Republic was also clear that the figures presented by the Cypriot Presidency do not represent the final destination, but the starting point for the next and final phase of negotiations. This, it was noted, is crucial for the political assessment of the process. The Cypriot Presidency rightly argues that it has created the necessary groundwork enabling the next Presidency to enter the final phase of negotiations with an organised package, real figures for discussion, and concrete political agreements, the sources said.
In essence, the Cyprus Presidency sought to bridge three difficult equations. Firstly, the need for fiscal restraint alongside the need to finance common European priorities, both traditional and emerging. Secondly, the need to modernise the budget while maintaining cohesion and support for Member States whose Gross National Income remains below 90% of the EU average, a principle grounded in the Treaties, it was noted, and thirdly, the need to finance new expenditure while ensuring a fair and sustainable revenue side.
The same sources emphasised that the key conclusion from Friday’s discussion is that the Cyprus Presidency has created both political and technical acquis. The negotiating box, the political agreements on the three principal instruments, and the discussion on new own resources together constitute a package capable of serving as the basis for the final phase of negotiations.
This, it was noted, also confirms the institutional contribution of the Cypriot Presidency. In a dossier regarded as one of the Union’s most difficult, Cyprus provided direction, produced negotiating texts, secured agreements, established a basis for continuity, and received public recognition from the leaders of the European institutions and Member States, the same sources said, adding that, for the Republic of Cyprus, this assessment carries particular political significance. It reflects a Presidency that acted with seriousness, credibility, and a sense of European responsibility, leaving the next Presidency with a mature package upon which an agreement can be built by the end of the year, they said.