Ex-minister warns Cyprus risks losing EU Presidency’s legacy

Former Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna has proposed setting up a strong political coordination mechanism for European affairs, warning President Nikos Christodoulides that without one, Cyprus risks losing the greatest legacy of its EU Council Presidency . Raouna set out the proposal in her final letter to the President, submitted alongside the deputy ministry’s activity report as her term ended on July 31, 2026. In the letter, seen by Phileleftheros, Raouna writes that “the most important legacy of the Cyprus Presidency may be maintaining a strong mechanism for coordinating European affairs at the highest possible level .” Such a mechanism, based on best practice, would amount to a significant reform in how the state manages European affairs, she adds, strengthening over time Cyprus’s ability to take part effectively in EU decision-making and to consistently promote its positions and national interests. Her warning draws on her own experience of Cyprus’s previous EU Council Presidency. Government sources who spoke to Phileleftheros said the 2012 experience showed that the absence of a coordination mechanism led to the loss of the gains built up during that Presidency. Elsewhere in the letter, Raouna writes that “the experience of preparing for and holding the Cyprus Presidency confirmed that European issues form an integral part of the country’s domestic governance,” noting that these issues run through almost every area of public policy and directly affect citizens’ daily lives, from the economy, social policy and competitiveness to energy, migration, security and civil protection. Effective Cypriot participation in EU decision-making is therefore, she argues, a basic precondition for effectively pursuing national policy. If anything endured from the run-up to and through the Presidency, it was the effectiveness of political coordination. As Raouna puts it, “this experience also highlighted the value of timely and effective political coordination and unified management of European affairs at government level.” The trust built with EU institutions and member states, she adds, is a significant asset for Cyprus that should not be confined to the Presidency period, pointing also to the close cooperation between Cabinet members, ministries, deputy ministries, state services and Cyprus’s Permanent Representation to the EU. A role in Cyprus problem efforts Elsewhere in her six-page letter, Raouna points to her own contribution to efforts on the Cyprus problem, particularly in securing greater EU involvement . Alongside her duties as deputy minister, she writes, the President entrusted her with assisting his efforts to restart negotiations on resolving the Cyprus problem, including taking part in expanded meetings held in Geneva and New York as part of that process. At EU level, she says she developed contacts and consultations, particularly with the Office of the President of the European Commission, aimed at securing more active and substantive EU involvement in resolving the Cyprus problem and the appointment of an EU Special Envoy for the issue. Presidency stocktake In the letter, Raouna sets out in brief what was achieved during the six-month Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, from January 1 to June 30, 2026. She notes that “the Presidency was tested during the particularly demanding geopolitical developments of March 2026” and that, despite extremely difficult conditions, it adapted quickly and effectively, ensuring the smooth running of scheduled Presidency meetings and Council business. What the President is weighing next Phileleftheros understands that the President’s office is considering setting up a mechanism that could act as a coordinating body between ministries and deputy ministries on European affairs. The President has not yet decided what form it will take. What is clear, however, is that the mechanism will not take the form of a deputy ministry, since this does not appear to be favoured by a majority of parties in Parliament, particularly the opposition duo of DISY and AKEL.