Deputy Minister for European Affairs in London and Brussels for meetings and GAC

The Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, is in London at the invitation of the British Minister for the Constitution and Relations with the European Union (EU), Nick Thomas-Symonds.

According to a Cyprus Presidency Secretariat press release, as part of her visit, Raouna will hold meetings with Thomas-Simmonds, as well as with the EU Ambassador to the UK, Pedro Serrano on 27 January.

As stated, the meeting with the British Minister will focus on EU-UK relations, in the context of the preparations for the upcoming Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as on bilateral relations and regional developments, while during the meeting with the EU Ambassador to the UK, the EU/UK relations will be discussed, among other things, in view of the assumption of the Presidency of the Council of the EU by Cyprus in the first half of 2026.

The Deputy Minister will then travel to Brussels, where she will participate in the work of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC) on 28 January, the press release continues.

It is added that during the Council meeting, the first under the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, there will be a presentation, followed by a discussion, of the priorities of the Polish Presidency, with a focus on the agenda falling within the GAC competences, followed by a country-by-country discussion on the rule of law, in the framework of the annual dialogue on the rule of law, with Hungary, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia, on the basis of the European Commission's State of the Rule of Law Report 2024.

Ministers will also discuss the informal paper to be presented by the Czech Republic on the gradual integration of Ukraine and Moldova into the single market, as well as the issue of effectively addressing hybrid threats such as information manipulation and external interference.

In the morning of the same day, Raouna will participate in an informal working breakfast hosted by the Swedish Minister for European Affairs, Jessica Rosencrantz, with the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, on the country's accession path.

During her stay in Brussels, the Deputy Minister, together with Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, will have a meeting with Cypriot MEPs with the aim of further strengthening cooperation and coordination between them, in view of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, the press release concludes.

(Source: CNA)