Our special report on the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union offers an overview of the key players and priorities for the next six months.
Cyprus assumes the presidency of the Council of the European Union at a pivotal juncture for the bloc.
The EU is attempting a rearmament push, implementing the forthcoming Pact on Migration and Asylum, advancing talks on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, and pursuing negotiations towards a new round of enlargement.
While those priorities are central to Cyprus’ rotating presidency, the island nation is also focused on issues closer to home — including migration, Mediterranean security, water resilience, relations with the EU’s neighbouring Middle Eastern and Gulf states and, most delicately for Cyprus, Turkey.
The Parliament’s special guide to the Cypriot presidency includes an overview of Cyprus’ key priorities for the next six months.
In an exclusive interview, Ambassador Christina Rafti, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU, outlines how the presidency intends to address these challenges and the practical outcomes she expects at the end of the term.
MEP Geadis Geadi and MEP Giorgos Georgiou examine Cyprus’ approach to migration from opposing political viewpoints, drawing lessons at the EU level, while MEP Loucas Fourlas situates Nicosia’s migration policy within the broader context of the country’s regional partnerships.
Elsewhere in these pages, MEP Michalis Hadjipantela highlights the role of Cyprus’ gas reserves in diversifying the EU’s energy sources, while MEP Costas Mavrides underscores the importance of the six-month presidency mandate in shaping the EU’s evolving defence strategy.
One of the few digital natives elected to the European Parliament — with more than half a million followers on Instagram and nearly 235,000 on X — MEP Fidias Panayiotou envisions the advent of a more direct democracy in the European electoral process.
Finally, this policy report includes two additional high-level commentaries. Cleopatra Kitti, a senior policy adviser at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, discusses the strategic importance of Nicosia’s ability to respond to differing national interests in driving the EU agenda. And, lastly, a former US Ambassador to Cyprus, Kathleen Doherty, explores how Cyprus’ Council presidency could be the last chance to settle the question over Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island.
— Francesco Puggioni, Opinion & Policy Report Editor
