The Speaker of the House of Representatives Mrs Anita Demetriou had a meeting today with the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research and Culture, Education and Youth Ms Mariya Gabriel in the framework of the Commissioner's official visit to Cyprus, where she is participating in the proceedings of the "Democracy Forum" Conference organised by the Office of the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights in cooperation with the House of Representatives.
During the meeting, issues related to the European Year of Youth and the relevant activity plan of Cyprus, the perspectives for the European Union (EU) in the post-pandemic era in terms of innovation research and education, the importance of young people's participation in decision-making processes, as well as the ongoing war and humanitarian drama in Ukraine were discussed. The European Commissioner praised the importance of the right messages being disseminated to society through the organisation of the Democracy Forum and underlined the importance of preserving European values.
For her part, the President of the Parliament stressed the importance of ensuring the participation of young people in the decision-making process, as well as the importance of the role that women can play in policy-making. Regarding the humanitarian drama in Ukraine, Ms Demetriou said that Cyprus, as a country that was invaded and occupied by Turkey in 1974, fully feels the consequences of the war and the humanitarian drama caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ms Demetriou also referred to the humanitarian aid sent by the Republic of Cyprus to Ukraine, as well as the opportunity she had, together with nine female EU Parliamentary Presidents, to visit refugees on the Ukrainian-Polish border and to witness first-hand the humanitarian drama of the refugees.
Finally, the President of the Parliament extended an open invitation to the European Commissioner to visit Cyprus again.
(Text as sent by the House of Representatives)
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