The Deputy Minister for European Affairs Mrs. Marilena Rauna had a meeting yesterday, at the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the Mayor of Ayia Napa, Mr. Christos Zannettos, and the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Antonis Christou, in the context of the contacts she is making in preparation for the Cyprus Presidency of Council of the EU in 2026.
After the meeting, the Deputy Minister made the following statement to the representatives of the media:
"I would like to warmly thank the Mayor of Ayia Napa Mr. Christos Zannettos and the Deputy Mayor Mr. Antonis Christou for the extremely constructive meeting we had today. With today's meeting, I am inaugurating my cycle of contacts and consultations with the local authorities, in view of the assumption of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of 2026, starting from the province of Famagusta, from the municipality of Ayia Napa.
As I often say, exercising the Presidency of the Council of the EU is a national mission, which requires and presupposes the contribution of all of us. In this context, our cordial cooperation with local government authorities is of utmost importance and priority for the Government.
I am particularly satisfied because we had an extremely constructive and beneficial meeting. I informed about the course of preparations, which are proceeding at an intensive pace by the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, in close cooperation with all the Ministries and Deputy Ministries.
We discussed, in particular, the needs that arise due to the holding of hundreds of meetings in Cyprus during the Presidency. As I emphasized during our meeting, our goal from the beginning, and the President of the Republic himself has stated it, is to involve – and will involve – all the provinces of our Cyprus. We included this decision in our preparation plan, goals and priorities from the beginning.
During the Presidency, more than 200 meetings and conferences at all levels will take place in Cyprus. It is also expected to host more than 20.000 visitors. Our goal is to make the most of all the provinces of our Cyprus. It is an opportunity to highlight all the provinces, from the coastal towns to the highlands and, of course, our capital, Nicosia, the last divided capital of Europe.
We agreed with Mr. Mayor that we will be in constant communication and coordination to determine the next steps. I would like to thank, once again, Mr. Mayor. Our goal is common, our priorities are common, our approach is also common."