[PIO] Members of a delegation of the House of Representatives attended the 71st Conference of the European Affairs Committees of the Parliaments

The 71st Conference of the European Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the Member States of the European Union (COSAC), which took place between 24 and 26 March 2024 in the European Parliament, as part of the parliamentary dimension of the current Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), concluded today. The House of Representatives was represented at the Conference by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs, Mr. Harris Georgiades (chairman) and the Members of Parliament, Ms. Marina Nikolaou, Mr. Chrisis Pantelidis and Mr. Kostis Efstathiou.

In his intervention during the discussion on the topic of the open autonomy strategy, Mr. Efstathiou stressed the need for the EU to finally acquire a protagonist mentality, which can only be achieved through its independence from third parties to cover its defence needs, so that the European continent does not become a field of confrontation between the major powers.

In the context of Mr. In the context of Pantelides' intervention on the same issue and referring to the statements of the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Mr Breton, according to which "the era of innocence and naivety has come to an end in the case of Russia", Pantelides pointed out that this statement should not only apply to Russia but also to Turkey. In particular, Pantelides recalled that Turkey has been illegally occupying the territory of the Republic of Cyprus for 50 years and EU territory for the last 20 years and deplored the fact that, despite this occupation, EU countries are selling arms and military equipment to occupying Turkey in the framework of bilateral trade partnerships that go beyond any contractual cooperation within NATO.

The Conference concluded its work by adopting its Contribution to the EU institutions and related conclusions, which included an amendment by the Cypriot delegation on the COSAC Conference's strong support for the "Amalthea" project to send humanitarian aid to Gaza through the sea corridor from Cyprus.

(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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