On the sidelines of the 22nd Interparliamentary Conference on Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is taking place in Stockholm, in the framework of the current Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the head of the Cypriot delegation to the Conference, Mr. The meeting was also attended by the Parliamentary Delegations of the Mediterranean countries of the European Union (EU) (GroupMed). In his introductory remarks, Mr. Giacomou Coucus, Mr. Zacharias Coulou, Mr. Alekos Tryfonides and Mrs. Alexandra Attalidou, members of the Cypriot delegation, as well as members of the parliamentary delegations of France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Malta and Portugal. Karoullas said that the Mediterranean countries are linked through geography, politics, history, trade and common challenges, such as natural disasters, and are driven to develop cooperation between them, based on common principles and values and their Mediterranean identity, to address security challenges that undermine peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region. Mr Karoullas stressed the need to immediately address the growing challenges such as migration, conflicts, energy security and climate change, which pose threats to European security. He stressed the need to put the issues of concern to the Mediterranean countries back on the EU's agenda, particularly with regard to the CFSP and the CSDP.
Mr Karoullas referred to the migration challenges facing Cyprus, as a result of the hybrid war waged by Turkey, aimed at destabilising the Republic of Cyprus. The Cypriot MP highlighted the difficulty of managing the disproportionately large number of irregular migrants that Turkey is channeling through the occupied territories to the areas under the control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus, despite the tireless efforts made. He underlined the need to continue discussions on the EU regulation on dealing with situations of instrumentalisation in the field of migration and asylum and towards the adoption of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum.
Finally, Mr Karoullas noted that the energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean can contribute to European energy security and be a factor of stability and cooperation, underlining the importance of regional cooperation mechanisms and projects. He criticised the attitude of Turkey, which chooses to exclude itself from such cooperation, while stepping up its provocations against the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus on its territory and in its Exclusive Economic Zone. It is for this reason, Mr. Karoullas pointed out, that the EU's role in the Eastern Mediterranean must be strengthened, so that joint efforts to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region can continue unhindered.
Ms. Attalidou expressed Cyprus' support to the government and people of Turkey in Syria affected by the recent devastating earthquakes. The earthquakes, she stressed, also heighten our concerns about the impending operation of the nuclear power plant in Akkouyu, an earthquake-prone area on the southern coast of Turkey, very close to Cyprus, whose construction quality, she pointed out, is of questionable quality. Ms Attalidou stressed that the consequences of any accident for Cyprus and for the entire Mediterranean would be catastrophic. and appealed to the participating delegations to support Cyprus' efforts to prevent a possible nuclear accident in the region.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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