The priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) will be precisely defined after consultation with all Ministries and the House of Representatives within the current year, Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna told the President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, during a meeting on Monday.

According to a press release by the House of Representatives, Demetriou received today Raouna and her team in the first meeting between them since assuming her duties as Deputy Minister, in the context of the preparations for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.

Welcoming the Deputy Minister, the President of the Parliament stressed the great importance of harmonious cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities, so that the state can successfully accomplish the great challenge ahead of it with the forthcoming assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2026.

On her part, Raouna said that the proper preparation and successful exercise of the Cyprus Presidency is a top priority for the present government, but also a national mission from which the House of Representatives and the important role it is called upon to play are not exempt.

It is added that Raouna also provided the President of the House of Representatives with an extensive and in-depth briefing on all aspects of the Government's plans at the organisational, substantive and infrastructural levels.

She said that the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency will be precisely defined, after consultation with all Ministries and the House of Representatives during the current year, while stressing that particular importance is given to the promotion of the parliamentary dimension, in the context of the forthcoming Presidency and the inter-parliamentary actions planned.

Finally, it should be noted that issues relating to the future of the EU and its preparation for dealing with future crises were also discussed, as well as the issue of qualified majority voting and the abolition of unanimity, an issue on which it was agreed that the two authorities should discuss at joint meetings.

On May 1, 2004, Cyprus became a full EU Member State, along with the other nine acceding countries – The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. On January 1, 2008, Cyprus joined the eurozone. Cyprus assumed the six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, 2012 and the next Cypriot Presidency is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2026.