The President of the Republic Mr. Nikos Christodoulidis participated yesterday in the working dinner convened by the President of the European Council Mr. Charles Michel and hosted by the Chancellor of Germany Mr. Olaf Scholz in Berlin, with the participation of leaders of EU member states.
This is one of four working dinners convened by President Michel to discuss the EU's Strategic Agenda for 2024-2029, which concerns the political priorities the EU should pursue.
During the working dinner, President Christodoulidis in his intervention emphasized, among other things, that the EU needs to remain united in light of the challenges it faces in various areas.
Referring to the two crises that plague the international community as well as the EU, the war in Ukraine after the illegal Russian invasion and the war in Gaza, the President of the Republic pointed out that the EU must show that it can manage the situation that has developed without to lose its focus on the needs of European citizens.
He added that the joint efforts of the EU member states brought results and significant progress in the fields of health, safety, energy, as well as the green and digital transition, noting that the Union has proven in the past that in critical moments it is united and powerful. Nevertheless, there are areas such as dealing with immigration, where the management of the issue at the European level, especially for the frontline countries, does not meet the expectations of the citizens.
Referring to issues related to the goals of the new Strategic Agenda, the President of the Republic, after emphasizing the need to define and agree what the European interest is, noted that for Cyprus, the priority of the agenda under discussion is the strategic autonomy of the EU. Strategic autonomy characterized by two objectives:
First, a more resilient and competitive Europe by basing its policies on the pillars of improving the daily lives of its citizens.
And secondly, the strengthening of Europe's geopolitical role on the international stage through the strengthening of its policies in the areas of defense and security.
Referring to the situation in the Middle East, the President of the Republic said, among other things, that conditions must be created to resume the peace process for a two-state solution.
He also informed about the latest developments regarding the initiative of the Republic of Cyprus to create a maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza, in particular about the latest consultations with Israel.
Referring to the issues of EU enlargement, President Christodoulidis pointed out that the Union must adhere to the enlargement methodology, where each partner is evaluated on the basis of its own data.
Finally, President Christodoulidis referred extensively to the issue of decision-making within the European Union, reiterating the need to clearly define what the European interest is before any decision is made, but also how the interests of the member states of the Union are protected.