Cyprus government to raise issues concerning Cyprus issue and regional security during EUMed Summit

Cyprus Government considers the Summit of the nine southern EU countries (EUMed) that will take place on Friday in Athens as particularly important. The Summit will be extended with the participation for the first time of Croatia and Slovenia, beyond the countries of the Med7 group (Cyprus, Greece, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta).

As CNA has learnt, the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, will utilise the Summit and the meetings on the sidelines, in order to discuss issues of European interest, but also issues of security and cooperation in the region. The aim is to achieve the best possible result, which will be utilised both in terms of the Cyprus issue, as well as in other issues that are of Cypriot interest, such as immigration and the issue of the pandemic.

The Summit will deal with issues concerning three major pillars. The first pillar concerns peace, security and stability in the Mediterranean, and in particular in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as the future of cooperation with the countries of the Middle East and North Africa.

In the context of the discussion, the President of the Republic will have the opportunity to refer to the Turkish violations on the land and maritime areas of Cyprus, while the discussion on the development of relations with the Middle East countries will mainly highlight the role that can be played by Cyprus.

According to diplomatic sources, in this chapter the emphasis by the President of the Republic will be given to the stance of Turkey, which by all means seeks to prevent the development of regional cooperation in the region, that will promote among others the goal of energy security and autonomy by utilizing multiple energy sources.

The second pillar is the European agenda, which includes issues concerning the EU. Diplomatic sources told CNA that it is important that Cyprus participates in the big debate with positions and views on all major issues. Of particular interest is the debate on social rights, the Immigration and Asylum, pandemic management, and the new crucial issue of Green and Digital Transition.

The third pillar concerns the promotion of enhanced partnership with the countries of the Southern Neighborhood. This discussion is also of particular interest to Cyprus as it concerns the future of the EU`s relations with the countries of North Africa.
 
In this chapter, President Anastasiades will have the opportunity to highlight and promote his initiative on climate change and the international conference to be held in Cyprus on October 13-15. The aim is to develop a regional plan to tackle climate change.
 
In the discussions that will take place in the context of a working dinner, issues related to the developments in Afghanistan, hybrid threats and extremism, will be raised.
 
The President of the Republic will then travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly.