Pavlos Xanthoulis
With the EU’s top leadership arriving in Cyprus within hours, the Christodoulides government is scrambling to contain a political crisis that threatens to overshadow the country’s assumption of the EU Council Presidency. According to information obtained by K, mounting domestic backlash and growing concern over how the controversy is playing in Brussels have driven Nicosia into a frantic, last-minute effort to contain the damage caused by the now-infamous video.
The successive resignations of Philippa Karsera Christodoulides from the Independent Social Support Agency, as well as that of Charalambos Charalambous, director of the President’s Office and the President’s in-law, are said to have been mobilized as damage-control measures. The fallout, it appears, “grew larger than initially expected,” based on last Thursday’s early assessment, when the video first surfaced on the X platform via the account Emily Thomson.
As we understand it, the government initially believed it could manage the situation internally without resorting to resignations. However, in hindsight, and “with knowledge that publications in the European press were imminent” (a development later confirmed by Politico and the Financial Times), it was decided that immediate steps were needed to defuse the situation “before the arrival of the College of Commissioners” in Cyprus.
This was driven, on the one hand, by President Christodoulides’ desire to avoid turbulence and safeguard the image of the Cypriot EU Council Presidency, an image he is widely believed to be keen to leverage in pursuit of a second term in office. On the other hand, the EU agenda has grown increasingly heavy in recent days, with several open fronts, including a renewed internal dispute within the EU over Ukraine, developments related to Iran, and Donald Trump’s stated intention to annex Greenland, which belongs to EU member state Denmark.
While the rotating Council Presidency does not determine the EU’s political direction, it traditionally plays a coordinating role and acts as an honest broker. From this perspective, the inward-looking image now projected by Nicosia, in light of the controversial video, does little to strengthen Cyprus’ ability to perform its institutional role. If anything, it points in the opposite direction.
Second thoughts
Against this backdrop, and with the stated aim of “protecting the name of the Cypriot EU Council Presidency,” the President of the Republic, who initially chose to shield Mr. Charalambous, had second thoughts. Forty-eight hours after the crisis erupted, he conveyed via Deputy Government Spokesman Yiannis Antoniou, speaking on RIK, that “should any reprehensible conduct by the director of the President’s Office be established, Charalambos Charalambous will no longer remain by the President’s side.”
A day later, the president’s wife, Philippa Karsera, announced her resignation from the Independent Social Support Agency. Twenty-four hours after that, Mr. Charalambous also stepped down, creating the image of two targeted resignations, carefully timed and substantive in nature, aimed at defusing tensions both domestically and ahead of the Commissioners’ arrival in Cyprus.
At the same time, the attorney general appointed Andreas Paschalides, former Supreme Court judge and chair of the Independent Authority for Allegations and Complaints, as an independent criminal investigator to probe the controversial video.
The resignations of Karsera and Charalambous, along with the appointment of a criminal investigator, have had a calming effect on the domestic front, partially stemming reactions, particularly those voiced by governing coalition parties. In Brussels, meanwhile, a “wait-and-see” stance appears to prevail. This is likely linked to the gaps that remain, both regarding the video itself and the identity of those behind it.
Within this broader picture is also the question submitted to the European Commission by Sandro Gozi, secretary-general of the European Democratic Party, who raised serious concerns over how power is exercised at the very top of the Cypriot state. In his submission, Gozi also cited remarks by Odysseas Michaelides, head of the ALMA Movement (a member of the European Democratic Party), who warned that the revelations touch the very core of the rule of law.
A heavy EU agenda
When Cyprus assumed the EU Council Presidency, it was widely expected that the main burden it would be called upon to manage and coordinate would largely revolve around advancing work on the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, pushing forward the legal acts required for Ukraine’s financial support through a €90 billion loan package, and promoting a new round of sanctions against Moscow.
However, rapid developments on multiple existing fronts, combined with new flashpoints, now require deeper EU engagement and a more substantial presence from the Cypriot Presidency within its institutional role, without expectations of overreach. Yet Nicosia appears increasingly drained and consumed by inward-looking concerns stemming from the controversial video, with all that this entails.
While President Christodoulides and his team are preoccupied with managing the fallout from the video, a substantive dispute has erupted within the EU over Ukraine. Within this dispute, Emmanuel Macron’s France and Giorgia Meloni’s Italy are seeking to open a direct channel of communication and dialogue with Vladimir Putin, a move that has triggered reactions from other member states. At the same time, the Commission maintains that there is still a long road ahead before any talks begin, even as discussions are reportedly underway about appointing Mario Draghi as the EU’s special envoy on Ukraine.
In parallel, the EU is moving toward sanctions against the Tehran regime in response to the violent crackdown on protests, while the European Parliament has shut the door to Iranian officials. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who, as these lines were being written, was reportedly considering strikes against Iran, signaled his intention to annex Greenland, a territory belonging to EU member state Denmark. The issue has sparked reactions across the EU, while the Cypriot Presidency has yet to articulate a position.
According to information obtained by K, the matter was among the issues discussed with Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa during the opening ceremony of the Cypriot Presidency, one day before the controversial video was made public. As in all such cases, no one expects Nicosia to play a leading role within the EU. It is, however, expected to fulfill the institutional role assigned to it during the first half of the year, a role that now risks being significantly constrained by the inward-looking posture the Cypriot state has projected in recent days.
*Read the Greek version here.
