By Kieran Guilbert
by Michele Crisponi
New year, new presidency of the Council of the European Union. From the 1st of January to the 30th of June, Cyprus, the last of the trio of presidencies formed by Poland and Denmark, took over the leadership of the institution representing the EU Member States.
The EU has not had an easy year. In international politics, there has been the continuing war in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza; in domestic politics, the difficult balancing act between the Omnibus packages to revive industry and ambitious environmental goals; in Parliament, the rifts within the “Ursula majority”; in the Council, the uncomfortable presence of Orban, Fico and Babiš.
More recently, the US has resumed its expansionist ambitions in Greenland, threatening new and heavy tariffs, while Europe has been searching for a solution that seems increasingly distant and ineffective due to various divisions within the Council.
The new Council presidency
Beyond the geopolitical challenges, before handing the baton to Ireland, Cyprus will have to continue the work of the Danish Presidency, which left numerous dossiers open: among them, Omnibus IV, V and VI; the revision of the REACH Regulation; the CBAM; the Industrial Accelerator Act and the European Competitiveness Fund.
In order to achieve this, Cyprus has outlined an ambitious programme entitled “An Autonomous Union. Open to the World”, based on five main priorities: autonomy through security, preparedness and defence readiness; autonomy through competitiveness; openness; union of values; long-term budget for an autonomous Union. President Christodoulides had the opportunity to present the programme’s contents during the plenary session in Strasbourg on 20 January.
Autonomy and security
From an early analysis of the programme, the buzzword “autonomy” seems not to be used in an autarchic sense, but in the sense of protecting the Union’s borders and strategic interests both through internal strengthening and through new partnerships and agreements based on the fundamental values of the Union and the respect for international law.
Security – a central issue in domestic politics for Cyprus, which is the only Member State with part of its territory under occupation, since the Turkish minority, with the support of the Republic of Turkey, had seized 36% of the land and proclaimed a Turk republic of Northen Cyprus – is addressed not only through the strengthening of defence, but also through the improvement of cyber resilience to protect the EU from hybrid threats and disinformation, migration management, cooperation between Member States’ law enforcement agencies and EU maritime security.
The Cypriot Presidency also intends to implement the White Paper on the Future of European Defence, a Roadmap for Defence Readiness 2030 and the EU Defence Industrial Strategy. As outlined by Cyprus Ambassador to the EU, Christina Rafti, ‘some 80 years of the US security umbrella is ending, and the US is certainly disengaging from Europe’s security’. In this context, the Mediterranean assumes strategic importance in the future EU Security Strategy, as a theatre of dense trade, energy and migration routes.
EU enlargement
The EU’s autonomy also depends on its openness to the rest of the world. In this sense, the Cypriot Presidency sees EU enlargement as the process that will complete the vision of a Europe united by peace and democracy. This underlines a focus on Ukraine, the Western Balkans, Moldova and Turkey, but also a closer relationship with the United Arab Emirates and India, with which negotiations on two important trade agreements are currently underway. While the Cypriot presidency pushes for enlargement as a peaceful and democratic need, the issue also revives long-standing debates over the EU’s institutional architecture. In fact, as outlined by the Centre for European Reform, enlargement may cause and amplify the already existing concerns over the current system of qualified-majority voting in the Council and the wider decision-making process. Eventually, Cyprus program will probably spark more discussions over the long-awaited reform of the voting rules and institutional mechanisms in the EU.
Economic and strategic strength
As can be seen from the Cypriot Presidency’s programme, economic and strategic strength are two inseparable concepts: only a competitive Europe can be truly autonomous. For this reason, Cyprus intends to continue the simplification process, which is seen as a priority for reducing the bureaucratic burden, especially on SMEs and start-ups. The aim is to start and conclude the trilogues for Omnibus IV, V and VI, and to begin negotiations on the digital, environmental, food safety and automotive packages. Among other measures to support industry, Cyprus will commit to starting negotiations on the Industrial Accelerator Act and the European Competitiveness Fund, with the aim of including them in the next financial framework for the period 2028-2034.
Energy and Environment
Particular attention will also be paid to energy: in this sector, the priorities of the new Council Presidency are to diversify suppliers and supply networks, strengthen interconnections and network infrastructure to reduce energy costs and enhance energy security. To this end, it is proposed to create a roadmap for the digitalisation and use of AI in the energy sector, continue the negotiations on the European Grids Package and implement the Action Plan for Affordable Energy.
A focus on the environment is inevitable: it will be the task of the Cypriot Presidency to analyse cross-sectoral issues, the legal, financial, economic and political feasibility of the CBAM and examine new solutions; implement the European Water Resilience Strategy; continue work on the Environmental Omnibus to simplify and streamline EU legislation; and begin discussions on the EU Circular Economy Act to improve resource management, reduce waste and promote circular practices to create a market dedicated to circular products and services.
In short, a semester of hard work is expected from the small Mediterranean state. Around 28,000 delegates are expected to travel to Cyprus during the presidency. The calendar currently includes 53 formal and 260 informal meetings, with high-level meetings planned in Cyprus, Brussels, Luxembourg and even Cameroon.
Corruption scandal
At the same time, the corruption scandal that has recently hit the Christodoulides government – involving members of his inner circle, including his wife and his chief of staff, who is also his brother-in-law – comes at quite a sensitive moment for Cyprus. The controversy erupted after a secretly recorded video was posted on X by an anonymous account, the day after Cyprus took over the presidency of the Council of the EU and immediately sparked a political storm.
The footage shows senior figures discussing ways to circumvent campaign spending limits through cash donations and outlines the fact that businesspeople could gain access to both the president and the first lady through contributions to a social fund run by the latter. Moreover, there’s also a reference to assisting the Russians in avoiding EU’s sanctions.
Some officials have diminished the allegations as politically motivated and suggested the possibility of an external interference, probably from Russia. Whether these claims will be substantiated, remain to be seen. The controversy risks eroding public trust and adding further pressure to Cyprus administration, which is already facing the enormous difficulties of managing the workload of the presidency of the Council of the EU with a small administrative machinery.
Conclusion
Cyprus performance will be measured less by the (great) ambition of its programme than by its capacity to deliver continuity and stability at the helm of the Union. The emphasis on ‘autonomy’ in several fields reflects a broader debate with regard to resilience, yet autonomy at the EU level also posits credibility depends on credibility and institutional solidity at the national level. If Cyprus succeeds in advancing key files and containing domestic turbulence, its presidency could reinforce the narrative of a Union capable and ready to act cohesively despite all pressures. If not, the risk is that attention will slide from achievements to political fragility. Just the next six months will show whether Cyprus will be able to translate its program into tangible results.