Christodoulides advocates inclusion of migration in new EU Strategic Agenda

The migration issue and the EU’s relations with the countries of the southern neighbourhood should be included in the new EU Strategic Agenda for the period 2024 – 2029, President Nikos Christodoulides said, on the side-lines of the informal summit of the European Council in Granada, Spain, according to a written statement by government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.

According to the written statement, Friday’s meeting saw the first substantive discussion on the drafting of the new strategic agenda 2024 – 2029 for the EU’s priority areas over the next five years. The discussion on the preparation of the agenda will continue in subsequent European Council meetings, with the aim of completing it in the first half of 2024.

Christodoulides expressed the opinion that the migration issue and relations with the southern neighbourhood should be included in the new agenda, “an area of special interest to the EU in areas such as security, immigration, energy where the union must intensify its presence and policy adoption, and which is a direction that as Cyprus we will place in the priority axes that we will promote during our presidency in the 1st half of 2026,” Letymbiotis said.

“The leaders of the member states discussed the need to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of the European economy, the strengthening of energy autonomy, the reduction of strategic dependencies especially in sensitive sectors, the prioritisation of the green transition and digital transformation high on the strategic agenda, as well as the defence and security issues of the union,” he added.

Commenting on the first meeting, the government spokesman said that the president submitted proposal and positions of Cyprus on the matters discussed. Letymbiotis said that Christodoulides expressed his support in further strengthening the strategic autonomy of the union, in the framework of an open and competitive EU.

“He [the president] also stressed the need to make strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the European economy a top priority, especially as the economic climate worsens,” the statement by Letymbiotis said.

As he noted according to the written statement, the EU “must be able to guarantee a decent level of economic and social well-being to its citizens”. The president “supported initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses and strengthen policies aimed at improving the lives of European citizens, while highlighting the importance of the green transition for Cyprus, which remains isolated in terms of energy.”

In the area of defence and security of the EU, Christodoulides noted that he supports development efforts since “it contributes, among other things, to the strategic autonomy of the Union”, while he pointed out as extremely important “the discussion on the issue of further integration of the European Union and noted that the Republic of Cyprus belongs to those member states, which strongly support the need for more integration, as an important and successful tool that on the one hand strengthens the EU and at the same time significantly benefits the acceding countries”.

Letymbiotis said that during the working lunch, the president discussed the migration issue and underlined that “our aim should be to fight the root causes of migration, including cooperation with third countries, on the basis of specific data”.

According to the government spokesman, the president also called for the acceleration of the adoption of the Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean, which was mandated to the Commission in the February European Council Conclusions, and which was discussed at the recent MED9 Summit in Malta.

Letymbiotis added that the president informed his counterparts that Cyprus supports that the European Parliament quickly adopts the bills, which are an agreement for migration and asylum seekers.