Cyprus aims at ‘balanced EU budget’ during two-day council

President Nikos Christodoulides will be participating in the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, which will focus on the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034, aimed at reaching a comprehensive deal by the end of 2026. “The main priority of the Republic of Cyprus continues to be forming a balanced and ambitious European budget, which will address the new challenges and at the same time secure adequate resources for the cohesion policy and the common agricultural policy, with emphasis being placed on balanced growth and supporting both the countryside and the primary sector,” government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said. On Thursday, ahead of the European Council, Christodoulides will attend the European Peoples’ Party summit and then meet with the leaders of member states participating in the Friends of Cohesion group. This is “a decisive negotiation on the future of the EU, as the next European budget will determine its ability to fund its strategic priorities, enhance its competitiveness and security, and secure its economic and social cohesion”, Letymbiotis said. He added that Cyprus was attending the discussions having already contributed to forming a negotiating basis during its EU presidency during the first half of the year. The European Council agenda also includes discussions on the competitiveness of the European economy, high energy prices and their impact on households and businesses, European security and defence, developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, migration, enlargement and EU reforms. On Friday, Christodoulides will attend a meeting of leaders who have converging positions on migration, before the European Council convenes for the second day of works. Christodoulides will be returning to Cyprus on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, Christodoulides addressed students at Maastricht University on ‘Cyprus and the European Project: Bridging Europe and the Middle East on the path to strategic autonomy’. In his speech, Christodoulides said reunifying Cyprus would strengthen the European Union’s strategic autonomy and its ability to respond to crises in the Middle East. Christodoulides argued that Europe’s security and economic interests could not be separated from developments in the Middle East and the Gulf, pointing to the impact of the Hormuz crisis on energy prices, trade and inflation. “As the EU’s south-easternmost member state, Cyprus is well placed to strengthen cooperation with the region,” he said. Christodoulides stressed that the EU must respond to an increasingly uncertain international environment by deepening integration and developing the capacity to act independently, when necessary, while continuing to cooperate with external partners. “The time for the union to lead is now,” he concluded.