The Deputy Minister for European Affairs Ms. Marilena Rauna had a meeting today, at the Presidential Palace, with the Mayor of Famagusta Mr. Simos Ioannou and a delegation of the municipality, in the context of the contacts she is making with the local authorities for the purposes of preparing the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of EU in 2026.
After the meeting, the Deputy Minister made the following statement to the media representatives:
"I would first like to welcome the Mayor of Famagusta Mr. Simos Ioannou and his team, and thank you for a particularly constructive meeting.
Our meeting with the Municipality of Famagusta is part of a circle of contacts that we are launching today, with the meeting with the Mayor of Famagusta, with all the occupied municipalities of Cyprus.
During the meeting, we informed the Mayor of Famagusta and his colleagues about the progress of our preparations for the Republic of Cyprus taking over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.
Our occupied municipalities are a special point of reference during the Cyprus Presidency. We take over the reins of the Council of the European Union, representing all member states, as the last occupied member state of the EU. In this context our occupied municipalities have a particularly important role to play.
For Cyprus, it is an opportunity to inform, enlighten and promote our national issue, which, as repeated on October 11 by the nine leaders of the Mediterranean member states of the EU, is a European issue. In this context, the European Union has a decisive role to play in solving the Cyprus problem.
With Mr. Mayor we discussed specific joint actions, events and initiatives that we can undertake together, through close cooperation, precisely to promote, to inform our European partners in relation to the Cyprus issue.
Famagusta has always been a strong point of reference for Europeans, for the European Union itself. It is a symbol of the continued occupation and the violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.
We also had the opportunity with Mr. Ioannou to discuss the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, after the UN Secretary-General convened the informal dinner of the President of the Republic with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community in New York. The result of the persistent efforts made by the President of the Republic is the mobility for the resumption of negotiations, always within the framework of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and European law, principles and values.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again welcome the Mayor and his team. I look forward to close and cordial cooperation."
