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- Ελληνικά
Today, at the Presidential Palace, in the presence of the President of the Republic Mr. Nicos Christodoulides, the ceremony for the appointment of Mrs. Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister to the President for European Affairs took place.
In his speech during the ceremony, President Christodoulides said: "Today, the confirmation and assumption of office of the Deputy Minister of State for European Affairs, Ms Marilena Raouna, whom I congratulate and wish her every success in her difficult task, marks the official start of the preparations for the Cyprus Presidency of the European Union (EU) in the second half of 2026. This is a very important milestone for our country, to which our government and I personally attach great importance, for reasons I am sure we can all understand.
EU membership affects horizontally every aspect of our daily lives in terms of economy, labour, environment, security and generally in all aspects of our lives, even in those areas where the acquis is still very limited, such as health and education. Consequently, holding the Presidency is not only a particularly demanding institutional task, but also a national mission with a pan-European dimension, to which I am sure we will respond with complete success.
The official launch of our preparations for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union coincides this year with the 20th anniversary of our country's accession to the great European family, the greatest success, I truly believe, of our country since its foundation in 1960 and especially after the tragic events of 1974 which shook the state to its foundations. Two decades later, Cyprus is a member state with a significant contribution to European affairs and with substantial participation in the formulation of policies on major issues of concern to European citizens, with a role and a voice for the interests of European citizens, including Cypriots.
At the same time, the Cyprus problem is now a predominantly European issue. Nicosia is the last illegally divided European capital, and the EU has both an obligation and an interest to contribute actively, using all the political and economic instruments and tools at its disposal, in the context of both Euro-Turkish relations and enlargement in general, to achieve a viable and workable solution to the Cyprus problem, always within the agreed framework. We are fully invested in the EU's contribution to the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem with a solution that is compatible with the principles and values of the EU, which will also guarantee basic human rights for all legitimate citizens of this land, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins.
Dear Mrs. Raouna, my dear Marilena, I have chosen you to lead this great national effort because I am sure that you have the knowledge, the qualifications, the experience, but above all the vision, the will and the perseverance needed to succeed in a mission that is not foreign to you. It is a particularly demanding office, time and human resources are limited. But I have no doubt that you will make the most of it and will again distinguish yourself for your hard work and leadership in promoting consensual solutions needed for a Union of 27. We are entrusting you today with the reins of a very ambitious portfolio and I know that you will dedicate yourself, together with the team you will set up, the Foreign Minister and the other members of the Council of Ministers, to timely planning and creating the necessary institutional structure that will allow us to deliver the results we want in our Presidency with complete success.
Moreover, our highly productive multi-year cooperation from various positions since 2011, most recently as Director of my Diplomatic Office, your excellent training, your diplomatic experience, your diligence, as well as your deep knowledge of the functioning of the EU and its institutions are sufficient guarantees of success.
Many times I have pointed out that if the first, admittedly successful Cyprus Presidency of the Council in 2012 marked the coming of age of the Republic of Cyprus as a member state of the Union, the second Cyprus Presidency should place our country in the hard core of the EU with concrete initiatives and coherent action led by the Council, taking the unification process one step further for the benefit of European citizens and of course our country.
The Cyprus Presidency is part of the Trio Presidency which starts with Poland in the first half of 2025, continues with Denmark in the second half of the same year and ends with the Cyprus Presidency in the first half of 2026. Therefore, we need to speed up our preparations and be fully prepared from the beginning of 2024 to work closely with our partners in the Trio Presidency, both on the preparation of the work programme and on the readiness to assist the work of the Polish and Danish Presidencies.
As I said, the timetable is very tight and the challenges are many. The EU Presidency is an exciting, unique journey with a strict institutional framework and many challenges. But at the same time - and here I refer to my personal experience - it is an excellent experience, a unique opportunity to showcase our country, especially in terms of our clear European orientation, but also in terms of our human resources, which are undoubtedly our country's greatest asset.
My dear Marilena, you are not alone in this effort.
My dear Marilena, you are not alone in this effort. I call upon you, with respect to the Constitution and the laws in force, to cooperate with all organized groups in Cyprus, the political leadership, the Legislature and all social partners and independent and other state officials, institutions, civil servants, as well as professionals from the private sector and civil society. The people of Cyprus are our wealth and you have to use them to a great extent in order to promote our country as a bridge of cooperation, as a pillar of stability, as a crossroads for the meeting of different cultures, languages and religions. As a member state of the EU which is struggling for justice, to get rid of occupying troops and to give its citizens the opportunity to live and create in security and prosperity, just like all other European citizens. I am sure that with your knowledge and experience, your ethos and your hard work, your presence in the Council of Ministers will be highly productive and creative.
For her part, Ms Rauna said, among other things, "It is with feelings of deepest emotion that I take up today the duties of Minister of State to the President for European Affairs", warmly thanking the President of the Republic for the confidence he has shown in her.
She added: "I am fully aware of the responsibility I am assuming and the great importance of the mission entrusted to me as head of the preparation of the second Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026."
Ms Raouna assured the President of the Republic that "the confidence in me translates into feelings of duty, a sense of duty and commitment, total dedication to my mission. I will work tirelessly to be worthy of your trust, worthy of the debt owed to our Cyprus."
She also noted that "12 years ago, in 2012, I had the good fortune to serve in our Permanent Representation in Brussels, with you Mr. President, as a member of the team that would carry out the first Cyprus Presidency of the Council. I know first-hand the importance as well as the difficulty of the task and the enormous challenge. I am also aware of the great importance you personally attach to the active and enhanced participation of the Republic of Cyprus in the EU.
Rest assured, Mr President, that I will work hard and with dedication together with the whole team we will create, drawing on all the knowledge and experience we have gained over these 20 years of EU membership for an ambitious and successful Presidency that will leave a positive footprint. Acting as an honest broker in promoting the interests of the Union and its citizens by effectively advancing as many legislative dossiers as possible.
The opportunity of the Presidency, every 14 years or so, if properly exploited, can prove that the size of a Member State is not equal to its square kilometres, but to its role, its expertise, its ability to demonstrate that it can be an effective, reliable and useful partner and to promote consensual solutions on issues vital to the Union. With the strength of its solid, albeit limited, human resources.
The EU is our physical space, our home, our family. Our historic vocation, our present and our future. An edifice of peace, unification and solidarity. It is in this unifying power of the Union that we believe, which can be a catalyst for the reunification of our country, the last divided member state of the Union, on the basis of the agreed framework and in accordance with the European acquis, with the principles and values of the Union.
We all know, and this is the universal objective, that the road to European integration passes through the resolution of the Cyprus problem, which is a crucial European issue.
I would like to underline that from the first day of my new duties I will work closely with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and all members of the Diplomatic Service, our Permanent Representation in Brussels and the General Secretariat for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as with all members of the Council of Ministers, in order to create or develop the necessary structures, the appropriate teams of people and to adopt best practices in order to prepare and execute an ambitious and prioritised Presidency. With a vision for a more and fairer Europe, for a Union as its founding fathers envisioned it, as my generation wants it, as the next generation deserves it. A geopolitical, strategically autonomous, competitive Union that respects and offers prosperity and quality of life to all its citizens, without discrimination.
(PM/EP/GC)
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