Cyprus will chair the Presidency of the European Council in an efficient and successful way, and within the range of the country’s capabilities, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said on Tuesday, adding that the EU Presidency will reinforce the country’s prestige in the EU and beyond.

The Government Spokesman was speaking after a broad meeting on the preparations for the Cyprus EU Presidency, held today at the Presidential Palace, in Nicosia, under the President of the Republic Demetris Christofias.

Stephanou noted that the state apparatus in its entirety, along with the Presidency of the Republic and the Secretariat of the Cyprus EU Presidency, are dealing with this “national issue”, as he described it.

Commenting on the pace of preparations, Stephanou said that they are proceeding intensively, added however that problems are always expected to emerge in events of such scale.