Member of the Cypriot delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean, Costas Kosta, participated in a meeting of the Committee on Political Affairs, Security and Human Rights chaired by MEP Costas Mavridis. The session, which was organised by the European Parliament in Nicosia, focused on the "Situation in the Euro-Mediterranean region and opportunities for cooperation."
In his intervention, Mr Kostas said that the Mediterranean has been an area of great tensions and challenges over time and at the same time a region with development prospects and opportunities. The tensions and challenges that plague the peoples of the Mediterranean, the Cypriot MP stressed, must be addressed collectively and with international law as a compass, we can move towards a new, commonly accepted model of peaceful coexistence and prosperity. Therefore, he stressed that we cannot continue with the delay and rivalries on the critical issue of the exploitation of the energy resources of the Mediterranean basin.
Kostas pointed out that the new major challenges of our time that threaten the future of the region need serious management, which implies transgressions that go beyond the borders of states and must be tackled at the regional and international level. The EU, he stressed, has a historic duty to strengthen its cooperation with all the Member States of the Union for the Mediterranean in terms of early warning and coordination of their actions in the face of modern challenges. On the basis of common principles and a shared commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, he said, the EU must step up its dialogue with the Mediterranean countries in order to implement its renewed cooperation strategy with its Southern Neighbourhood and its new Mediterranean Agenda. There is no more room for manoeuvre, as the chronic problems of the region are great and threaten not only the region but also its wider neighbourhood, i.e. Europe and its citizens.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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