The European Union is an evolutionary structure and a constantly evolving force of stability and it is up to each member state and each European citizen to improve it, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna said in a written statement on the occasion of Europe Day.

She added that the elections for the European Parliament, on June 6-9, are an opportunity and a supreme democratic duty, to be part of the process of shaping European policies.

Raouna noted that Cyprus is an equal member of the European Union since 2004, and a member of the Eurozone since 2008, and added that our admission to the EU transformed our country and made it stronger.

At the same time, she said, it opened a huge field of options for the new generation of Cypriots, improved our daily life, in education, health, agriculture, tourism and trade sectors and brought enormous benefits to the modernization of our state.

The Deputy Minister also said that Cyprus is one of the gateways of the European Union to the rest of the world, for energy, trade, shipping and humanitarian operations.

She said that we believe in the unifying power of the EU which stands in solidarity with our efforts for peace in Cyprus and for the reunification of the Republic of Cyprus, the last divided member state of the EU, via a solution based on the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and of the EU's own principles and values.

On the occasion of Cyprus EU Presidency, during the first quarter of 2026, Raouna noted that we are working intensively, utilizing all the knowledge and experience we have gained in these 20 years of our EU course for an ambitious and successful Presidency that will leave a positive mark.

She said that our vision is a fairer EU with more solidarity and with effective policies for the benefit of all its citizens, a strategically autonomous Union and a stronger one because a stronger European Union means also a stronger Cyprus.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Numerous peace talks under the UN aegis failed to yield results.   

The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Colombia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.