Nikos Anastasiadis | Discussion of Defence and Security issues before the European Council

Defence Redefined

26/02/2021

The President of the Republic, Nikos Anastasiadis, expressed the determination of Greek-Cypriot side for the successful conclusion of the forthcoming informal conference on Cyprus and the hope that Turkey will express the same willingness. During his speech, the President was addressing the extraordinary teleconference of the European Council, which took place on February 25-26. 

According to a statement from the Presidency, in this context, President Anastasiadis highlighted the particularly important role that the European Union has to play, taking into account that the reunited Cyprus will continue to be an EU member state after the solution of the Cyprus problem.

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As mentioned, on Friday, the second day of the teleconference, issues related to the fields of Defence and Security, as well as the Southern Neighborhood were discussed.

During his speech, President Anastasiadis congratulated the European Commission, and in particular its President and Commissioner for Health, on efforts to address the pandemic and expressed his support for the steps taken to establish the new European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), with the adaptation of vaccines to new variants being its primary aim.

He also stressed the importance of adopting a common “vaccination certificate” to facilitate the movement of citizens, while stressing that tourism, a key pillar of the Cypriot economy, has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.

Regarding the fields of Defence and Security, and in the light of the discussions on a new European Defence Pact, the President of the Republic shared the need to strengthen the European Union’s strategic autonomy to effectively address existing and future challenges, including cyber-attacks and hybrid threats. 

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During his speech on the Southern Neighborhood, President Anastasiadis highlighted the strategic importance of the relationship with the countries of the region, welcoming the new “Mediterranean Agenda”, which aims to renew the relationship between the EU and the Southern Neighbourhood countries including new areas and forms of cooperation, such as good governance for the rule of law, human development, digital transition, green transition and climate resilience. To this end, there will be a development of specific infrastructure and investment projects in the Southern Neighborhood.

Furthermore, he made special reference to the role of Cyprus and Greece as pillars of stability in the region, through the development of tripartite cooperation mechanisms.

Concluding, President Anastasiadis “expressed our side’s determination for a successful conclusion of the forthcoming informal conference on Cyprus,” under the auspices of the UN, while expressing the hope that Turkey will express the same willingness. In this context, he highlighted the particularly important role that the European Union has to play, taking into account that the reunited Cyprus will continue to be an EU member state after the solution of the Cyprus problem.

Moreover, as has been reported, the leaders’ discussion yesterday focused on the efforts being made to tackle the coronavirus pandemic as well as the current epidemiological situation in the Member States, in line with the European Union’s vaccine strategy. 

On this occasion, the need to increase production by the contracting pharmaceutical companies was emphasized, in order to achieve the goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population of the Union by the end of summer. They also exchanged views on proposals submitted for the creation of a “European Health Union” aimed at increasing the EU’s resilience to possible future health crises.

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