Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus formally closed its six-month presidency of the EU Council on Tuesday, with officials, civil servants and volunteers gathering at the Filoxenia Conference Centre to mark the end of the term. Speakers described it as one of the bloc’s most effective recent presidencies and highlighted the scale of the operation delivered over six months.
Emotional closing ceremony
European Affairs Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna, who led preparations for the presidency over the past two and a half years, became emotional as she addressed what she called “the family of the Cyprus presidency”.
“I promised myself I would try not to become emotional,” she said. “I have been fighting this for the past month, as we passed one final milestone after another.”
Scale of the presidency
Raouna paid tribute to the hundreds of officials in Cyprus and Brussels who worked on the presidency, including many behind the scenes. She said the presidency hosted almost 300 meetings across Cyprus, including 19 informal ministerial councils and, for the first time, an informal summit of EU leaders alongside regional leaders.
More than 30,000 visitors travelled to Cyprus during the six-month period.
“The success of the Cyprus presidency is you,” Raouna told those gathered.
Building the operation
Raouna also reflected on arriving in office in January 2024 without a building, a team or an established structure for the work ahead.
“We built a service from scratch,” she said. “We fell and got back up many times. But never once did we believe we would fail.”
Government assessment
Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said the presidency reflected an unprecedented collective effort. He said many had questioned whether Cyprus, one of the European Union’s smallest member states, could manage a presidency shaped by multiple geopolitical crises.
He said the presidency showed that “what matters is not the size of the country, but the quality of its preparation, coordination and determination”, and added that Cyprus had left a legacy that would continue to strengthen its role within the European Union.
