EU island strategy and long-term budget top talks between Christodoulides and Fitto

Cyprus’ role in shaping the European Union’s next long-term budget, a new EU strategy for islands and efforts to tackle depopulation in rural communities dominated talks on Thursday between President Nikos Christodoulides and European Commission Executive Vice President for cohesion Raffaele Fitto. Fitto is in Cyprus to address Friday’s high-level conference in Paphos on strengthening the EU’s islands and coastal communities, organised by the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU in cooperation with the European Commission. The conference follows the commission’s unveiling earlier this month of its first comprehensive strategies for Europe’s islands and coastal communities, aimed at boosting their competitiveness, resilience, connectivity and long-term sustainability. Welcoming Fitto to the Presidential Palace, Christodoulides thanked him for his support during Cyprus’ presidency of the Council of the European Union, describing his contribution to negotiations on the next multiannual financial framework as “crucial”. “What you did for our presidency was instrumental, especially regarding the biggest and most important issue, the multiannual financial framework,” the president said. He added that Cyprus looked forward to continuing its cooperation with the commission beyond the end of its presidency. Fitto praised what he described as the successful outcome of the Cypriot presidency, saying significant progress had been made on the next EU budget, future cohesion policy and the bloc’s new strategy for islands. “I can say this presidency was a very important success for you and for the European commission,” he said, adding that cooperation would continue on the next multiannual financial framework and upcoming initiatives, including the commission’s proposed “Right to Stay” strategy. The “Right to Stay” initiative was designed to address population decline in rural, remote and inland areas by helping people remain in the communities where they live. Fitto later said that the new islands strategy marked the first time the EU had adopted a comprehensive framework specifically addressing the challenges faced by island regions. More than 4,000 inhabited islands across the European Union are home to around 17 million people. While they make an important contribution to Europe’s economy, culture and territorial cohesion, they also face structural disadvantages including geographic isolation, higher transport and service costs, smaller markets and demographic pressures. Fitto said the strategy aims to help islands make better use of EU funding under the next long-term budget while tackling what he described as the “cost of insularity”. “We now have the opportunity to use the resources available through this strategy to address the major challenge of the cost of insularity,” he said. The comprehensive strategy for coastal communities of which Fitto spoke seeks to strengthen the bloc’s blue economy while addressing challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, housing pressures and the seasonal nature of tourism. As one of only three island member states in the EU, Cyprus is expected to be among the countries that stand to benefit most from the new initiatives. Fitto is due to visit the village of Ayios Ioannis in Limassol district and the EU-funded Troodos Observatory as part of the “Right to Stay” initiative. “The objective is to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness while responding to the significant risk of depopulation in inland rural and remote areas,” he said. The strategy will bring together regional policy with other sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, transport and tourism, to create a more integrated approach to regional development. Fitto said the commission had already received more than 700 submissions during a public consultation on the initiative and plans to present the full strategy in the first months of next year. He added that visiting villages during official missions was an important part of the Commission’s work. “The goal is to be on the ground and better understand the real needs of these communities,” he said. Friday’s conference in Paphos will bring together EU ministers, regional and island authorities, European institutions, experts and other stakeholders to discuss the future development of Europe’s islands and coastal regions and how the new strategies can be translated into practical policies.