“The Presidency of Cyprus has achieved results in all its priority pillars,” said the Ambassador of Cyprus in Spain, Michalis Ioannou, during the reception he held to review the six months in which his country has presided over the European Council. Among them, he mentioned the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which was presented on June 11.
Ioannou specified that just a few days later, on June 16, the Council reached a agreement regarding the National and Regional Partnership Plans, the European Competitiveness Fund, and the “Global Europe” program, the three fundamental pillars of the MFF, “which gives us a very solid basis to reach an agreement.”
In this regard, the Secretary of State for the European Union, Fernando Sampedro, intervened to highlight that Cyprus has always shown “a sense of responsibility, focus on results, and Mediterranean sensitivity”. He emphasized that in this semester, by presenting the ‘negotiation box’ (nego-box) of the Multiannual Financial Framework before the General Affairs Council, he has demonstrated it again.
Regarding other matters, the ambassador emphasized that, in a complicated context due to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the Middle East crisis, in April the Council approved the last necessary element to allow the disbursement of the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine, while the twentieth package of restrictive measures against Russia was adopted.
As for enlargement, which he recalled was “a strategic priority of the Cypriot Presidency,” the ambassador assured that significant progress has been made in the accession negotiations of Ukraine, Moldova, Albania, and Montenegro.
During the Presidency of Cyprus, important steps have been taken in Defense and Security through the implementation of the SAFE program, the advancement of the Military Mobility agenda, and the initiation and promotion of debates aimed at giving practical effect to the mutual assistance clause provided for in Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union, with the aim of strengthening European independence.
Regarding Migration, another fundamental priority of the Presidency of Cyprus, on June 1, an agreement was reached between the Council and the European Parliament on the Return Regulation, which will allow faster and more effective procedures throughout the EU for the return of people who are in an irregular situation in the Member States.
Regarding the EU’s trade relations, during these six months the ambassador recalled that the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement was signed in January; the Modernized EU-Mexico Global Agreement; the Provisional Trade Agreement; a broad package of agreements with Switzerland; and the regulations on tariffs of the EU-U.S. Joint Declaration were approved.
At the informal meeting of the European Council held in Nicosia in April, the roadmap “One Europe, One Market,” was signed, which establishes specific actions and timelines to improve competitiveness. Previously, in March, the Council and the Parliament agreed on the most ambitious and comprehensive reform of the EU Customs Union since its creation in 1968.
The ambassador lastly mentioned “a matter of great interest to Spain”: the Coreper agreement on the EU and UK pact regarding Gibraltar, which is expected to come into force on July 15.
