President addresses EU's future & climate at EUCO summit

President Christodoulides will participate in Friday’s informal summit of the European Council in Granada, Spain, which will focus on the future of the EU and the external dimension of migration.

The meeting is expected to start at 9:30 local time (10:30 Cyprus time), while the press conference is scheduled for around 14:45 (15:45 Cyprus time).

According to an earlier announcement by the office of President Christodoulides, during the discussion of current affairs, the countries of the MED9 group will present a letter to European Council President Charles Michel requesting further assistance and financial resources to be allocated to countries most affected by the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.The text of the letter was agreed during the recent MED9 summit in Malta.

The agenda of the summit will focus mainly on launching the debate on the EU's Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029, which should be finalised in the next six months during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU. In parallel, leaders will begin a broader discussion concerning the future of the EU given the prospect of its enlargement, and concerning the need for internal reform in the EU.

The summit’s agenda also includes migration, particularly as regards the external dimension of migration and relations with countries of origin and transit.

The discussion is expected to focus on concrete measures, such as the implementation of the aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding with Tunisia connected with migration. Issues related to the New Immigration and Asylum Package could also be raised by member states, given the disagreement of Poland and Hungary on qualified majority voting in this area of policy.