Preparations for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU are intensifying at all levels, Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna said in her statements after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

She noted that December is a milestone month for the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, which starts in January 2026.

"We are a year away from the beginning of the Presidency, with our preparations intensifying, while December is the month in which the joint Priority Programme of the Trio Presidency, consisted of Cyprus, Poland and Denmark, will be presented for the ten months from January 2025 to June 2026," she said.

Raouna also noted that after the end of today's Cabinet meeting, a special presentation and briefing of Ministers and Deputy Ministers on the European Parliament was delivered by the Head of the Department for Relations with the European Parliament at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus in Brussels, in view of the assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU by Cyprus and especially in the context of its role in the EU legislative process.

She added in this regard that during the Cyprus Presidency, Cabinet members, in addition to chairing the EU Council's Ministerial meetings, will represent the Council before the European Parliament.

Concluding, she said that on 17 December the 18-month Priority Programme of Poland, Denmark and Cyprus will be presented and adopted at the General Affairs Council, followed by the publication of the Programme, in view of the beginning of the Polish Presidency on 1 January 2025.