The crisis in the Middle East and the response of the EU member states to Cyprus’ request “to put in place a mechanism for all those things that need to be done in case an EU member state is attacked” were the focus of the meeting today between the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Christodoulides, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Brussels.
The Cypriot President stressed that even without the activation of Article 42 (7), i.e. the mutual defence clause provided for by the Lisbon Treaty, “the response of the Member States has given substance for the first time” to this clause, noting that “an attack against a Member State is an attack against the European Union”. He said this created an opportunity for further institutional armouring of the EU in crisis situations.
Referring to the regional crisis, he noted that the European Commission, following a Cypriot request, decided to support Lebanon with €100 million in aid for Lebanon. euros to address the humanitarian situation, while reiterating the readiness of the Republic of Cyprus to host a possible meeting between Lebanon and Israel.
As far as the Cyprus issue is concerned, N. Christodoulides said that the prospect of resuming the talks was discussed, stressing the need to make use of the “window” until the end of the UN Secretary General’s mandate. He reiterated that internal political processes in Cyprus “do not in any way” affect his readiness to resume negotiations on the basis of the agreed framework.
At the same time, he expressed satisfaction with the progress made towards Cyprus’ accession to the Schengen area.
Finally, he also referred to the debate on foot-and-mouth disease in Cyprus, thanking the Commission for the “substantial financial support”, which is aimed both at addressing the immediate impact and reactivating the livestock sector, as well as for the additional measures to prevent future risks.
