President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, said that as the EU is steered into the next 20 years, the guiding light on the horizon must be more Europe, building a federal Europe, with member states granting even more of their sovereignty to the Union. He also called for an ever closer, stronger, more resilient Union, that delivers to its citizens. In a speech at Jagiellonian University, in Krakow, entitled 'Cyprus and Poland - A common vision for the next 20 years of membership to the European Union', President Christodoulides said his visit coincides with the celebration of the 660th anniversary of Jagiellonian University which is an institution that is a beacon of knowledge, excellence, of innovation. He reminded that Cyprus and Poland, celebrated a milestone in their common history, 20 years since their accession to the European Union. When Cyprus and Poland joined together the European Union, he said, "they were in effect returning to their rightful place, a place of common values, c ommon identity, but also a place of economic and political security that only a group of likeminded, almost half a billion Europeans, can provide". Both countries may be distant geographically, but they share so many commonalities and have both faced repeated, grave challenges to their sovereignty and independence. "Cyprus regrettably is still standing as the last divided EU member state, under military occupation by Turkey, our own big neighbour. We have both endured threats, occupation. We struggled for our independence. And our countries have also rich cultural heritages that is an essential part of the European culture", the President remarked. The two countries' relations "are going from strength to strength, at the bilateral level, with economic relations continuously growing, but also at the multilateral level, and as European partners that see eye to eye on key issues" while Poland stands in solidarity with Cyprus in our efforts to reunify Cyprus in line with UN Security Council Resolutions. In his speech, President Christodoulides talked about how we render the Union more resilient, more competitive, more strategically autonomous. He said the discussion of how we build up our Union is not one confined to Brussels. "It should be one that leads and informs Brussels. From European citizens. That is one of the reasons the upcoming European elections are so crucial", adding the Union needs to listen and enable our youth a lot more than we do. President Christodoulides said the "Union is at an inflection point in its history" and now is the "time to deliver". Our Union has been faced with one crisis after another in recent years - from the migration crisis to the economic crisis, the pandemic, the invasion against a sovereign European country, another war on the south eastern border of the Union. He cited the war in Ukraine, a sovereign European country invaded, its territorial integrity violated, international legality shattered while Cyprus, a victim of invasion and half a century of continuous occupat ion by Turkey, has stood in an unwavering, unequivocal manner on the right side of history on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cyprus, together with EU are standing on the right side of history. More recently, he said, "we woke up yet again to the reality that there are no frozen conflicts, with war ravaging the Middle East". As a Union we are weathering the storms, said the President and have shown resilience and unity, even though at times it has been extremely challenging to achieve unity and solidarity. And despite the serious challenges the Union has been facing in recent years, it continues to inspire countries on the European continent and beyond, largely because it has proven that it heals historical divisions. On the note how "do we put the foundations for an even greater Union", the President said the stakes are high and "if we do not become drivers in the evolutionary path of the Union now, act to strengthen it, internally and in world, making it more resilient, the Union runs the risk to gradua lly diminish". "History tells us that at turning points in our European history, the answer has been more Europe, more integration, putting more building blocks in the construction of our Union". At the June European Council we will adopt, he said, the strategic agenda of the Union, about how on the one hand we create a more geopolitical and strategically autonomous Union that is a global actor, and at the same time, how we deliver more and better to our citizens. The EU, he added, "must be able to have a role and a voice on more than one geopolitical crisis at a time". Cyprus, as the EU's lighthouse in the Eastern Mediterranean, with longstanding excellent relations with all our neighbours, is working hand in hand with the EU, with the European Commission, on building a holistic EU policy with our regional partners such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon. He also referred to the Amalthea Cyprus maritime initiative, which we consider to be our moral duty towards the region, and the civilian population in Gaza. "O ur European journey is one of promise, hope, transformation. Of strength stemming from unity and solidarity. I stand firm that as we steer the Union into the next 20 years, the guiding light on the horizon must be more Europe, building a federal Europe, with member states granting even more of their sovereignty to the Union. For an ever closer, stronger, more resilient Union, that delivers to its citizens", the President concluded. Source: Cyprus News Agency
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