Remarks by the President of the Republic of Cyprus at the doorstep ahead of the informal meeting of heads of state or government of 23-24 April 2026

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr Nikos Christodoulides, upon his arrival at the informal meeting of heads of state or government, which begins today, 23 April 2026, at Ayia Napa Marina, Cyprus, made the following remarks to media representatives:

"We are particularly proud to be hosting the first European Council since the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU in 2004. It is with the same pride that we hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU. 

Over these two days, the issues to be discussed will reaffirm the priorities of our Presidency. The first is strengthening our relations with neighbouring countries. Tomorrow, a very important meeting will take place with the leaders of the region, not only to exchange views on the situation in the region, but even more so – following the announcement of the Pact for the Mediterranean – how we can, through specific actions, elevate our relations with the countries of the region to a strategic level.

The second concerns the EU’s strategic autonomy. The EU’s strategic autonomy has two key components. One is energy issues, which we will discuss tonight: as immediate solutions, the Commission’s package of proposals, but also in the long term how to achieve the goal of Energy Union, a key objective of the Cyprus Presidency. Second, defence and security issues. Specifically, we need to give substance to this, to establish an operational plan in the event that a member state decides to invoke Article 42(7) of the EU Treaty. Now is the time, taking into consideration regional and international developments, to give substance through specific actions to our common goal of achieving the EU’s strategic autonomy."

Photos

See photos from the event on the Cyprus Presidency's Flickr account.