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- Ελληνικά
It is with feelings of pride and joy that I welcome you to the Presidential Palace to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus' accession to the European Union (EU).
I am particularly happy because on this very special day, the day that marks the most important success of the Republic of Cyprus since its foundation in 1960, we have the pleasure and the great honour to host in Cyprus the President of the European Commission, our dear friend Ursula, in an event which, apart from being celebratory, focuses on the new generation, the future of our country and of Europe.
Dear Ursula, thank you very much for your presence here, for accepting my invitation, which I interpret, among many other things, as an indication of the great importance you attach to the new generation of European citizens as President of the European Commission. On behalf of the State, the Government and the entire Cypriot people, I welcome you to Cyprus.
Cyprus' accession to the EU is an extremely important milestone in the modern history of our country. It is the culmination of a joint, multi-year and painful strategic pursuit and diplomatic effort with a positive impact on the political, economic and social life of our country.
It was exactly 20 years ago, on this day, 1 May 2004, that Cyprus became an equal, full and integral member of a strong and united group of states. A group of states with which we share common values and principles, upholding democracy, the rule of law and pluralism.
Dear children, we celebrate this year's anniversary with feelings of pride, optimism, but above all with feelings of duty and responsibility towards all of you, the future of Europe.
We are proud because integration has brought us enormous benefits in all aspects of human activity, from our everyday life to trade, business, tourism, health, fishing, shipping, shipping, agriculture, transport, the economy of our country, everywhere.
I am filled with a sense of optimism because we know how important it is to be part of a strong family and how much more we can achieve as active members of the EU.
We feel a sense of duty and responsibility towards all of you, because we know that we have to deliver to you a credible and active Member State, reunited, which will continue to be at the heart of the decision-making centres in Brussels with a meaningful voice and role. A state that continues to make a constructive contribution to the shaping of European policies with the ultimate goal of further integration. For a Security Union with a clear geopolitical orientation, with strategic ambitions and strategic autonomy to be able to face effectively any challenges.
That is why today, my dear children, I want to focus on all of you, the young generation, all of you who are the future of Cyprus and Europe and who are our main concern behind every decision we take.
I sincerely believe that among the many, the most important features of our membership is the freedom and the possibility for all European citizens, especially you, today's students and tomorrow's students and workers, to move freely within the Union, to settle, study and work in any European country you wish. All this, my dear children, was not a given before we joined the EU.
At the same time, the exchange of experiences, as achieved through various European initiatives, youth actions and school programmes, which dear Ursula, in deeds and not in words, has given particular impetus to during her term of office as President of the European Commission, are not only accompanied by positive results exclusively for you. The biggest gain is for the Member States of the Union itself, since strengthening learning mobility and cross-border cooperation between young people, between all of you, is the basis for more solidarity, more mutual understanding, closer relations between European citizens and, by extension, a stronger Europe.
One such example is the "School Ambassador" programme, a pan-European secondary education programme involving fifty-five schools in Cyprus, which you all represent here today.
Dear students, we have an obligation, and we know it very well, to intensify our efforts in order to bequeath to the new generation a more prosperous, fairer, more inclusive, more competitive Europe with high standards of quality of life. A real Citizens' Union, based on sustainable development and the green economy, on digitisation, on innovation, which promotes youth entrepreneurship in practice and puts the interests of its citizens at the heart of all its policies.
In this context, I am firmly convinced that constant consultation with young people, their active participation in decision-making centres and electoral processes, as well as the promotion of their involvement in the public sphere, are the basis and background for achieving what I have just mentioned. That is why I invite you, on the occasion of the fact that 2024 has been decided to be the "Year of Youth", but even more so because of this year's twentieth anniversary of our accession to the EU, to participate en masse in the great celebration of democracy on 9 June for the election of the Members of the European Parliament. I really believe that your mass participation, the mass participation of the Cypriot people, will be the best celebration of the twentieth anniversary of our accession.
As Cypriot citizens, we feel proud to be part of the most successful peace project in the world. A project that was created out of the ruins of two world wars to establish peace, security and cooperation and has today managed to grow into one of the strongest economies on the planet, with a profoundly strong value system and an undeniable geo-strategic footprint.
In this successful peace project we are also investing in ending the occupation and reuniting our country. And YES[/I][/I] the European Union is our main support in the effort to achieve peace in our land through a mutually beneficial state of affairs, which will bring about the consolidation of a sense of security and cooperation in the troubled region in which we find ourselves.
On such a day and in the presence of the President of the European Commission, which is a great honour for our country and the Cypriot people, celebrating and commemorating such an important anniversary, we could not have had better interlocutors than all of you, the representatives of the new generation, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
After all, it is for all of you that we are working with the sole aim of achieving a European Union that is even stronger, even more resilient, even more competitive.
(PM/NZ/GC)
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