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President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides presented an assessment of Cyprus’ Presidency of the Council of the European Union following the conclusion of the final European Council meeting held during Cyprus’ six-month term. He described it as “a mission that we carried out with genuine dedication, intensive work, steady progress and tangible results.”
Christodoulides stressed that the Presidency had been “results-oriented” and referred to developments achieved in areas including defence, security and diplomacy.
“From the very beginning, we approached our Presidency with the conviction that there are no limits to what we can achieve for our Union. We also assumed the Presidency guided by a clear vision: to give meaningful substance to European strategic autonomy and European independence, as the next necessary step in European integration. This is precisely reflected in our Presidency’s motto: For a More Autonomous Union, Open to the World. A slogan that proved not only timely, but increasingly necessary in today’s geopolitical environment,” he said.
Full statement by the President of the Republic
We have just concluded the final European Council meeting held during the Cypriot Presidency.
From Cyprus’ perspective, this summit marks the culmination of a six-month period during which we held the helm of the Council, a responsibility we undertook with great pride and a deep sense of duty. It was a mission that we carried out with genuine dedication, intensive work, steady progress and tangible results.
A Presidency focused on delivering results from beginning to end. From the outset, we approached our Presidency with the belief that there are no limits to what we can achieve for our Union. We also took on the Presidency guided by a clear vision: to give meaningful substance to European strategic autonomy and European independence, as the next necessary step in European integration. This is reflected in our Presidency’s motto: For a More Autonomous Union, Open to the World. A slogan that proved not only timely, but increasingly necessary in today’s geopolitical environment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Eleven days before the conclusion of the Presidency, we now have a clear picture of the results achieved across the entire European agenda: from defence and security to competitiveness, enlargement, social cohesion and, of course, the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
Allow me to begin with the next MFF. We achieved our objective of presenting a mature negotiating framework with figures and securing several general approaches on key financial instruments and other sectoral proposals. This represented a decisive step towards the next phase of negotiations and provides a solid basis for reaching an agreement by the end of the year.
With regard to Ukraine, from our position within the EU, as the Union’s last member state that remains under occupation, it is absolutely clear what is at stake. It is equally clear how necessary it is to uphold international law and respect for the Charter of the United Nations, principles that are not open to negotiation. During our Presidency, we maintained our unwavering support through agreement on a substantial €90 billion financial assistance package, while also adopting the 20th package of restrictive measures against Russia.
In the field of defence and security, we achieved concrete progress, including through the implementation of SAFE, with financing assistance decisions for 18 member states, the completion of the horizontal package on defence preparedness, and the advancement of the Military Mobility agenda. Two days ago, we agreed on the Council mandate for the Military Mobility Package. At the same time, during our Presidency, we launched discussions that are now progressing on multiple levels to give meaningful substance to the mutual assistance clause under Article 42.7, with the goal of strengthening European autonomy.
On migration, we secured agreement on the Returns Regulation and oversaw the start of implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, marking an important milestone towards a more effective, balanced and sustainable migration framework.
Enlargement was a strategic priority of the Cypriot Presidency. Accession negotiations with Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro advanced actively. For Ukraine and Moldova, we completed the front-loading process and formally opened the first cluster, Fundamentals. This led to the historic Intergovernmental Accession Conferences with Ukraine and Moldova earlier this week for Cluster 1. At the same time, we advanced Albania’s accession path through the Intergovernmental Accession Conference on IBAR, and made significant progress with Montenegro, including the establishment of the Ad Hoc Working Party for drafting Montenegro’s Accession Treaty, as well as three Intergovernmental Conferences.
Regarding the Middle East, a region of vital importance and a neighbour of the EU, Cyprus worked to ensure that engagement and cooperation with the area remained high on the European agenda. During our informal meeting in Nicosia in April, together with António, we brought regional leaders together around the same table for a timely discussion on developments in our broader neighbourhood and on how this momentum can be used to deepen cooperation.
We also secured significant outcomes that strengthen our trade relations. These include the signing of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mexico agreements, a broad package of agreements with Switzerland, and agreement on the regulations implementing the tariff-related aspects of the EU-US Joint Declaration.
We further advanced EU-United Kingdom relations by approving the launch of negotiations on the UK's participation in the EU internal electricity market and its contribution to Cohesion Policy, while also reaching agreement on Erasmus+ and Gibraltar, thereby resolving the final outstanding issue related to Brexit.
Strengthening Europe's competitiveness remained at the centre of our efforts through the promotion of the “One Europe, One Market” agenda, which was jointly endorsed in Cyprus last April.
On simplification, we concluded negotiations on the time-sensitive Artificial Intelligence regulation within the Digital Omnibus framework, as well as on three additional packages covering Defence Readiness, SME support and Chemicals. At the same time, we achieved progress on the Food and Feed Safety Package.
We also completed the reform of the Union Customs Code, representing the most significant modernisation of the Customs Union framework in decades.
In addition, we secured Council agreement on the European Business Wallet and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while advancing negotiations on e-declarations, which we hope to conclude.
At the same time, we made substantial progress towards a more integrated Energy Union and are working to reach a general approach on the Networks Package before the end of the Presidency.
Furthermore, we remained committed to policies that have a direct impact on the daily lives of our citizens and strengthen democratic participation.
We achieved decisive progress on the long-awaited revision of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, which had remained under discussion for 13 years, providing stronger rights for European citizens while enhancing the resilience and competitiveness of the European aviation sector. We also concluded negotiations with the European Parliament on the coordination of social security systems (Regulation 883), critical medicines, the protection of adults, and work on the European Electoral Act concerning proxy voting.
Dear friends,
Six months ago, we assumed the Presidency with a clear objective: to deliver meaningful results. Today, we can proudly say that the results speak for themselves. From security and defence to competitiveness, enlargement, energy, migration and social cohesion, the Cypriot Presidency delivered outcomes for our European family and for our citizens.
Our term as President of the Council of the European Union has been a unique honour. We approached it as a national mission. The responsibility of being the voice of the 27 member states is a powerful reminder that Europe moves forward when member states advance the common European interest of our 450 million citizens.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues in the European Council, to António, to Ursula and the entire Commission, to Roberta and the European Parliament. Their contribution throughout this journey has been invaluable.
In closing, I would like to offer special thanks and publicly congratulate Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna, under whose supervision this collective national effort was carried out and who worked in an exemplary manner for the success of our Presidency.
Thank you.
