Dorita Yiannakou
Cyprus is ramping up preparations as it gets ready to take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026, a role that will put the country at the center of EU decision-making for six months.
According to current planning, the Cypriot Presidency is expected to handle roughly 330 legislative and non-legislative files. To stay on schedule, government services and coordinating bodies are speeding up work to ensure procedures and logistics are in place well ahead of time.
An influx of delegates and a packed agenda
About 28,000 delegates are expected to travel to Cyprus during the presidency. The calendar now includes 53 formal and 260 informal meetings, with high-level gatherings also scheduled in Brussels, Luxembourg, and even Cameroon, where a World Trade Organization ministerial conference and an EU Foreign Trade Council (FAC-Trade) meeting will take place.
The first meetings begin next week. On November 18–19, the Presidential Palace will host an extraordinary session of the Bureau of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Of the informal meetings scheduled in Cyprus, 27 are classified as high-level, including one informal summit of EU heads of state and government. The College of Commissioners will also visit on January 15–16.
A two-day visit by the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament is set for December 1–2, led by Parliament President Roberta Metsola and attended by the heads and secretaries-general of the political groups. Their visit, held before each new EU Council Presidency, focuses on exchanging information on upcoming priorities and legislative files.
Four thematic informal meetings and conferences will also take place, while the official opening ceremony is scheduled for January 7 at THOK.
Meetings spread across the island
The other 233 informal meetings, which will be held at a technical level, are scattered across Cyprus. They include:
- 84 at the Filoxenia Conference Centre
- 33 in Limassol
- 33 in Larnaca
- 32 in Famagusta
- 33 in Paphos
- 16 in venues such as the Joint Rescue Coordination Center and Nicosia City Hall
Officials say the goal was to distribute meetings evenly to promote all free districts of the island.
Hotel tenders hit licensing hurdles
Accommodating thousands of visitors has proven more complicated. The Presidency Secretariat required four- and five-star hotels with high standards in service, catering and technology, all licensed through August 31, 2026. But several districts struggled to find bidders who met the criteria.
Many tenders had to be canceled and relaunched after bids failed to satisfy licensing or technical requirements. Invalid bids included:
- Six operators in Limassol
- Six in Paphos
- One in Famagusta
- Three in Nicosia
- Two in Larnaca (one rejected for unrealistic pricing)
New tenders are now being re-announced, and officials note that several hotels have recently secured the required operating licenses, which may ease the process.
Based on current estimates, delegates are expected to generate about 62,554 overnight stays, broken down as follows:
- Nicosia: 27,240
- Paphos: 8,709
- Limassol: 8,511
- Larnaca: 7,383
- Famagusta: 6,228
A boost for the economy
The presidency is expected to create strong ripple effects for the economy. Hotels, restaurants, conference venues, drivers, translators, event organizers, and technical crews are all preparing for a significant surge in demand. Communities outside major urban centers are also expected to benefit from increased activity and visibility.
Officials see the presidency not only as an operational challenge but also as a strategic chance to show Cyprus off as a conference and cultural destination with long-term tourism potential, provided preparations stay on track.
New Larnaca–Brussels flights ahead of the Presidency
To support the increased travel, direct flights between Larnaca and Brussels are expected to start in December. Aegean Airlines has won the re-tender with a €4.7 million bid for the Larnaca–Brussels–Larnaca route, following an earlier tender that drew no interest.
According to the schedule, flights will begin with three weekly routes, rising to five per week from January through July 1, 2026, before adjusting to three per week in July and two weekly flights from August to November.
The new route is expected to make travel much easier for both the thousands of presidency-related visitors heading to Cyprus and officials traveling to Brussels.
*Read the article in Greek here.
