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- Ελληνικά
President of the Hellenic Republic Nicos Christodoulides, attending the Special Summit of the European Council in Brussels today, said:
"I hope that today we can reach an agreement at the level of the 27 Member States. Any other agreement, either at the level of 26 or if it is not possible to reach a decision, will be a very negative development for the European Union. I hope that through the debate that will take place, as this is an extraordinary European Council, especially because of the fact that we did not manage to agree last time, the message that we will send is the need to preserve the unity of the European Union, the decision-making process. For this reason, I repeat, anything other than an agreement between the 27 will be negative for the European Union. It will at the same time create a very negative precedent.
Beyond that, I am glad that the position of the Republic of Cyprus, together with other Member States, to discuss developments in the Middle East is important. We are not happy about the fact that there will again be no conclusions on the Middle East, because unfortunately as the European Union we have different approaches to this issue, although I believe that ending this unacceptable state of affairs and starting the political process to resolve the Middle East is something we can all agree on. In any case, we will discuss and I hope that through the discussion we can reach some common ground, which the President of the European Council will convey during the press conference".
Asked by a journalist whether he expects some discussion on a 26-level agreement or the launch of Article 7 in case there is no agreement on the multiannual, he replied:
"I cannot rule out anything, but I repeat that it would be negative for the European Union to go to an agreement on such an important issue at level 26. It sets a negative precedent and then on what issue will this practice not be followed? So you understand that it will be a blow to the European Union itself, at a crucial juncture before the elections for Members of the European Parliament, before the composition of the new Commission and the new President of the Council of the Commission, to have this kind of development. What message are we sending to our fellow citizens? So I hope, and this is where my intervention will be focused, that there will be an agreement at the level of the 27.
In response to a journalist's question about the Cyprus issue and his meeting with the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, he replied as follows:
"It was a very good meeting. I must once again publicly welcome the appointment of Ms Holguín. She brings a wealth of experience of the situation in Colombia. Of course the situation is different in Cyprus, but she has an important experience that can help us.
I also welcome the fact - and it was something that I found last night in my discussions with European leaders - that she is known at the European level for her work, for her role, for her skills.
Let me inform you that I have a meeting with Ms Holguín tomorrow as well. We spoke late last night and we will meet tomorrow at noon in Nicosia as a follow-up to her contacts.
From there I also had the opportunity to speak with the Greek Prime Minister. I would like to welcome the fact that the Greek Prime Minister will meet on Tuesday in Athens with Ms. Holguín, a meeting at the highest possible level, and I hope that there will be the same response from the Turkish side, that is, that the meeting will take place with Mr.
From my side, I want to reiterate once again that I will do everything possible to create the conditions to resume the talks from where they left off in Crans-Montana. There is an important acquis of the negotiating process which we should build on and starting from there we should lead to the resolution of the Cyprus problem, always on the basis of the agreed framework."
Asked if the Commission's proposal for a discussion on the relaxations will be tabled today and how it affects Cyprus, President Christodoulides replied. I believe that in the European Union and through the Multiannual Financial Framework there is a particular emphasis on the Common Agricultural Policy. It is something that is of course also of interest to the Republic of Cyprus. In fact, we are making an effort in Cyprus, the primary sector in general is only 1.8% of the country's GDP. We have seen with the koronoiu crisis, with the war in Ukraine the great dependence we have on the issues of the wider agricultural sector and we have decided by 1 March to set up a committee together with the agricultural organisations in order to present the new plan to increase the contribution of the primary sector to the country's GDP, but at the same time to reduce the country's dependence. So, yes, more support needs to be given. It is something that we as the Republic of Cyprus support and I hope that through the discussion we can come to such an outcome."
Asked how likely it is that Viktor Orbán would "leave the room to go to the toilet again" or even "activate the nuclear weapon, as Article 7 of the European Union is called", the President of the Republic said:
"I think any procedures, whether by a leader leaving the debating chamber during the decision-making process or anything else that results in a decision at level 26 will be very negative for the European Union. It will be a major blow to the European Union. All of this is what we want to achieve, especially at this juncture, because we are talking about a very important issue, the Multiannual Financial Framework, but at the same time at a time before the European elections. So you can see what a negative message we are sending to European citizens. So I am prepared to stay here as long as necessary and nobody can rule that out, hopefully from the first hour it will be possible to reach an agreement, but if there is no agreement, we will have to stay here to reach an agreement of the 27. I repeat, anything else will have a very negative impact. It may 'solve' (in quotes) the specific issue we are discussing, the aid to Ukraine, but I think it will open Pandora's box for future decisions at European Union level."
Asked what he expects from the debate that will take place regarding the Middle East, President Christodoulides said. We insisted together with Greece and some other Member States. So that is positive, that we will discuss it. Beyond that, I have already resented the fact that there will be no conclusions. It shows our weakness as the European Union on an issue that is in our neighbourhood. At the same time, the European Union cannot be unilateral. We cannot only discuss Ukraine. I fully understand the stakes in Ukraine, but at the same time we have a situation in our neighbourhood with very serious implications for the European Union and I believe that it was possible, if we had the necessary political will and patience, to reach some common conclusions, such as, for example, ending what is happening in the region, the need to restart the political process, the resolution of the Palestinian issue on the basis of a two-state solution, as provided for in the relevant United Nations resolutions. So we could, I repeat, if there was political will or proper preparation." He added: "It is regrettable because some states did not even want the discussion. They wanted to stay only on Ukraine. I repeat, I fully understand the seriousness of the Ukrainian case, the illegal Russian invasion, the ongoing occupation, but at the same time, if you want to have a geopolitical role, as we all say about the European Union, you cannot focus only on one issue and not want to touch the Middle East, to touch the essence of the Middle East, which is in our own neighbourhood."
For footage of the statements click here.
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