I want to start with the agenda of the European Council, because I think it is very important to intervene in all the items on the agenda. You understand that very serious decisions are taken that affect all Member States, including the Republic of Cyprus. So we must have an active role, a substantial participation in the discussions that take place and, by extension, in the results, in the conclusions that emerge. And I would like to take this opportunity to say that it was also a message that I sent to the Ministers, both the Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent Representative are present, and I would like to be informed of the continued presence of Ministers in the Councils.
I repeat, a large percentage of our legislation is in fact the adoption of decisions taken in Brussels. So we need to be involved. And this is also on the occasion that we are slowly starting preparations for the second Presidency of the Council of the European Union. A second presidency, which we want to be as successful, even more so than the first presidency we had in the second half of 2012.
The European Council started with a discussion with the Secretary General on geopolitical developments. Mainly it was the issues of Ukraine, but also climate change. The presence of the Secretary-General gave us the opportunity to welcome, from our side, the cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations. A cooperation that we believe should be further strengthened, but it also gave us the opportunity to talk about the need to extend this cooperation to Cyprus issues, and it was something that was also discussed at the meeting between the Secretary-General and the President of the European Council. He had a meeting in Brussels before attending the plenary session of the European Council. It was the meeting with President Michel, and in that meeting the Cyprus issue was also discussed.
The second item on the agenda was Ukraine. We reaffirmed our position, for us the violation of the sovereignty, the territorial integrity of any country cannot be accepted. From our side, we focused our intervention on the fact that sanctions should be applied by all third countries. It was something that was also mentioned by the President of Ukraine, who was present at the beginning of our discussion by teleconference, about the need to implement sanctions faithfully, because there is a phenomenon of third countries not applying sanctions and, in fact, speculating to the detriment of both the European Union and the Member States.
The third issue in the debate was the single market. Among other things, you understand the importance for our country of the services sector. We pointed out that there is room for improvement, as there are still several obstacles in relation to the single market in the European Union and we welcomed the decision that there is a longer-term strategy in the services sector that we expect to see from the Commission.
The issue of trade was discussed. Our intervention focused on the need to continue and promote the European Union's network of free trade agreements with third countries, but also to use the existing international framework which is within the World Trade Organisation.
The fifth topic of discussion was energy issues. We focused on the importance of the development and integration of interconnections, which is a very essential element to achieve the main objective, which is the energy security of Europe, the energy independence of Europe. We stressed the need for diversification, which can become a reality through the development of the deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also through the synergies of the states, the synergies that exist in the region for the development of major projects, either for the production of renewable energy sources or for the corridor, the famous Eastern Mediterranean gas corridor. This is an issue that I am very well aware of and which was raised during the election campaign, and was rightly raised repeatedly by society. It is something on which decisions will have to be taken very soon, we will have to speak publicly to the people, and precise timeframes will have to be set, because you understand the timeframe for exploitation, and as time goes by, as long as objectives are set which we fully support for the green transition, any exploitation will have to take place as soon as possible. It is important that natural gas can also be used as a bridge, as a transitional stage to achieve the objectives of the green deal. It was something that, I repeat, through our intervention, we highlighted.
The issue of migration was discussed, which is now in every European Council. We highlighted that in Cyprus it is a huge problem, with all due respect to our international obligations that as a state we have to respond to all those in need of international protection. At the same time, all those who made unfounded applications should be rejected as soon as possible. We have a major problem, which boils down to the instrumentalisation of immigration against Member States of the European Union. It was decided at the last European Council that the Commission would present a European Union action plan for the Eastern Mediterranean, and we expressed the expectation and asked to be in contact with the Commission before this plan is made public, which should reflect the realities, but at the same time it is an issue that I believe, as the European Union, we have not been able to deal with effectively. We hope that the action plan will have effective answers to all these issues. There was a common approach, if you like, through the interventions made by Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Malta, Mediterranean countries that are facing problems.
Today we had a discussion with the President of the Eurogroup, but also with Ms Lagarde from the European Central Bank, in relation to the situation, the need to move forward with the banking union. Within the framework of the discussion there was an exchange of views on the developments we have seen recently. It is important that from the point of view of the European Union there is a strong banking system. At the same time, we need to continue even further integration in this direction, which we expressed our support and our readiness to move forward in this area through our intervention.
On the occasion of my presence in Brussels, I had a meeting on the first day, before the European Council, with the presidents of the three institutions of the European Union, where I presented my proposal. Yesterday I participated for the first time in the European People's Party meeting, where again, among other things, we presented our proposal. This morning, before the debate on the Eurozone started, I had the opportunity to present to the plenary of the European Council, but also bilaterally with Heads of State and Government who I believe can play an important role in taking this proposal forward. With the Chancellor of Germany yesterday, today with the President of France, with my Dutch counterpart, the Netherlands has special relations with Turkey, but also with the Swedish Presidency. As you know, it is the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union at the moment. Soon we will also welcome in Cyprus the Prime Minister of Spain. It is the country that will hold the next presidency, so we want the presidency to play a role in this issue.
I had the opportunity to discuss, before the Summit started, with the Secretary General about our proposal, who was well informed by Mrs Di Carlo, who was in Cyprus and informed him about the relevant developments.
I want to tell you that I am satisfied with what I have heard in response to our proposal.
I want to say that I am satisfied with what I have heard in reaction to our proposal. Apart from showing our readiness to resume the talks from where they were interrupted in Crans-Montana. The second element concerns no discussion whatsoever outside the agreed framework, as set out in the United Nations resolutions, namely a bizonal bicommunal federation, but also our intention to create a positive agenda for all parties involved in the Cyprus problem, including of course the Republic of Cyprus, in order to create a mutually beneficial situation and finally lead to the resolution of the Cyprus problem.
One reaction that I received from all my interlocutors, apart from the positivity of our approach, our initiative, which is being discussed, which is now on the table, is the fact that we have to use this time until the elections in Turkey, so that this approach, our proposal, matures. Perhaps, if the need arises, we will see it formally adopted and, immediately after the elections in Turkey, its implementation will begin. I repeat, it is crucial to make use of the time until the Turkish elections, so that it can be translated into action and manifested immediately after the elections. It does not mean because of what we heard in Brussels, which I repeat was a positive response, that we are resting on our laurels. On the contrary, what we agreed, especially with the Presidents of the Commission and the Council, but also with some Heads of State who have a special relationship with Turkey or are more interested in the Cyprus problem, is that we are in contact in the next period of time to see specifically how this proposal is put forward.
Because you will ask me, because I want to be completely honest, I had with me the non-paper that we prepared. I didn't give a copy to anybody, but it was the basis of the discussion I had, the development of my arguments, how we see this initiative and why we think this initiative can lead to positive results.
I conclude by saying, so that there is no misinterpretation or misunderstanding at this point, we are not seeking - it was something that I conveyed to my interlocutors, I conveyed it to the Secretary-General, who told me that he knows it from Ms. DiCarlo - we are not seeking to replace the United Nations with the European Union. What we are seeking is for the European Union to be supportive of the efforts of the United Nations. After all, and I am sure you are well aware of this, for us it is the United Nations framework that is our safeguard, our safety net in relation to the objective that we are pursuing, which, unfortunately, the Turkish side is currently trying to distort by putting forward other forms of solution, whether it is called a two-state solution or whether it is called sovereign equality. Therefore, the European Union is coming to play a supporting role. Because the European Union, unlike the United Nations, has all those incentives, it has the toolbox, if you like, which can lead to what we are seeking. First, breaking the deadlock. This is the political dimension of the engagement that we are seeking from the European Union, and subsequently, the technical support, when, if and when negotiations start, which we saw in Crans-Montana, which we saw in the last negotiation process from 2015 to 2017, the presence of Mr. Van Nuffel on behalf of the Commission, from the Commission's Legal Service, was crucial to reach convergences that were not reached before. That is all from me. I am at your disposal for anything you wish to ask me.
(OP)
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