UK Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds spoke of a ‘historic moment’, since for the first time since Brexit a UK Minister has been invited to participate in the informal European Affairs Council, held in Nicosia on Monday, under the Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Arriving at the ‘Filoxenia’ Conference Centre in Nicosia, where he will participate at a working lunch, Thomas-Symonds said ‘this is a real historic moment. It’s the first time that a UK minister has been invited to and will speak at this Council since Brexit,’ he said.
He said that it is particularly delightful to be back in Cyprus, since he was here last November to talk about deepening security and economic cooperation.
‘As we see increasing foreign interference in our democracies, and we see the global instability that the world faces at the moment, the message that I’m going to be bringing today is this isn’t a moment to be increasing barriers between like-minded partners. This is a moment to be working together,’ he noted.
Thomas-Symonds added that ‘as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, has been saying, there is a real determination on the part of this government to put us at the heart of Europe. It’s great to be at the heart of Europe today and bring that message that the challenges that we all face, those shared challenges, are better tackled together.’