During her official visit in Cyprus, Roberta METSOLA, EP President gives a joint press conference with Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus. During the press conference, Roberta METSOLA pays tribute to Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, following her death on 08th September 2022.

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

EU - Cyprus (T)

ANASTASIADES, Nicos (CY)

Cyprus

president's agenda

Joint press conference by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Before continuing with my press statement, I want to express our deep sorrow for the passing of the Queen Elizabeth. We are member of the Commonwealth, we have excellent relations with Britain and we are sharing the hard feelings of the Royal family and the British people.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, As I was saying, I might have said it again, dear president, but I firmly believe that in you we have a leader who, in coordination with the European Council, can help steer Europe out of the multiple crises which we collectively face.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Dear president, today you are visiting the last divided capital of Europe. I cannot stress enough how much Cyprus continues to rely upon the support of the European Union and the European Parliament in our efforts to reunify our country and end the unacceptable status quo. To this, ladies and gentlemen, I had the opportunity to brief President Metsola on the current state of play of the Cyprus problem.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Regrettably, we are still in stalemate, given both the rejection by the Turkish side for the appointment of an envoy by the United Nations in this instance of a two state solution. A position which has time and again been dismissed by the United Nations and the EU as it deviates from the established basis of reaching a settlement that would reunify Cyprus as a bi-zonal,  bi-communal federation as set out in the relevantSecurity Council resolutions and always in the principles line of the and values of the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Nonetheless, I assured President Metsola that our side will continue to tirelessly work and assume initiatives to provide a way out of the current impasse. In this framework, I outlined my proposal for the adoption of more confidence building measures, which on the one hand address their important concerns of the Turkish Cypriots, the Cypriot community, and on the other hand, their potential to be a game changer in pursuit of a comprehensive settlement.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, As a whole, as I have already stressed to President Metsola, it goes without saying that in order to have conditions for the resumption of the negotiations, Turkey should terminate its unilateral actions in violation of international law, which have been strongly condemned by the EU, either on the ground or in the see, in violation of our sovereign rights within the exclusive economic zone. And when I was talking about on the ground, I mean, the violations of the Famagusta stratus, according to the very specific resolutions of the United Nations.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Ladies and gentlemen, another issue we discussed was, of course, migration. Cyprus has been the EU member state with the highest percentage of first time asylum applications in relation to its population for five consecutive years. And the one not being benefited by substantial relocation measures so far. At the same time, as I have informed my dear Roberta, the growing percentage of migrants compared to the local population posed a serious concerns since the proportion of applicants and beneficiaries of international protection in Cyprus corresponds to over five percent of the country's population.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, And as I have also talked to President Metsola, this instrumentalisation of migration, which is guided unfortunately by Turkey and its non-compliance with the 2016 declaration, constitutes a conscious effort to destabilise Cyprus and consequently the European Union. Therefore, we are all a strong view that the EU should develop a toolbox for a swift and effective response in order to enhance member states' resilience to this hybrid threat. Your friends' energy could not have been left out of our consultations today and naturally there is two aspects of it, both related to the implications of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, The first has to do with the spike in energy prices. As I have conveyed to President Metsola, we fully support the Repower EU initiative as well as the external energy strategy, since it is expected to strengthen the energy autonomy of the EU, help to deal with the electricity crisis, and also impetus to the energy transition. Of course, as I have conveyed to President Metsola, member state specifities need to be taken into account alongside important factor in our case due to our isolated energy system.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, I'm coming now to the second aspect which is about the need to push for Europe's energy independence in this rapidly changing geopolitical environment. In this respect, I elaborated to President Metsola our strong belief that the eastern Mediterranean can play a significant role in addressing the current energy crisis, upholding Europe by providing a reliable alternative energy corridor. And to this, Cyprus stands ready to make its own relevant contribution.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Ladies and gentlemen. Last but not least, we discussed the latest developments with regard to the continuous assault of Russia on Ukraine. Cyprus fully understand the tragedy that the Ukrainian people are facing. Us, we have also been victims of the illegal Turkish invasion, which resulted in the division of the island since 1974 and the ongoing military occupation of 37 percent of the territory of the republic and the forcible displacement of a third of its population from their homes.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, Our position has always been resolute and unanimous within the EU. The sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders of all states, including, of course, Ukraine and Cyprus, should be respected. What I have stressed that we regret, dear Roberta, is that unfortunately our joint efforts are hampered by partner countries which provide Russia with sanctions evading abilities. And we are all aware as to which country I refer to currently.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nicos ANASTASIADES, President of Cyprus, As I have also reiterated to President Metsola, it is our firm belief that all countries aspiring to join our European family should fully respect our fundamental values and principles. Dear Roberta, in welcoming you once again to Cyprus, I would like to thank you for your visit, which provided us with the opportunity to discuss issues high on the European agenda, reaffirming our strong commitment to the European ideals and the task of bringing Europe closer to citizens. Once again, thank you very much and welcome home.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Thank you, President Anastasiades. Thank you, dear Nicos, for inviting me here. As these are my first public remarks since the passing of Queen Elizabeth, allow me a moment to express my condolences and those of the people of Europe to the Royal family and everyone in the United Kingdom. The world has lost one of her greatest daughters who dedicated her life to service, and she will always be remembered.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Cyprus is, dear president, and will always remain close to my heart. And this is an opportunity for me to express the European Parliament's solidarity with Cyprus, to recall that Europe stands with you and that Europe will never be whole while Cyprus remains split. And that is why we need to get back to negotiations. This has to happen under the auspices of the United Nations. There can only be one Cyprus, a single sovereign European state. a bi-communal, bizonal federation in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions, as states in which all inhabitants are EU citizens.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, This has been said many times before, but it is worth repeating because this is the only way to peace and reunification and the time is now to inject some new energy into these negotiations. What we need is to restore trust, and recent provocative actions repeatedly condemned by the European Union will only jeopardise efforts to resume direct talks. Famagusta should become an example of bi-communal cooperation instead of a point of contention. A win-win is possible, and the European Parliament will be there to put all our resources to your disposal.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, Let me also use this opportunity to commend, President Anastasiades, your proposal for bold confidence building measures and your personal efforts for the resumption of a constructive dialogue between the persons and the parties involved. Such measures would pave the way for trust building between the two communities, providing an impulse for a shared solution in line with the UN Security Council resolutions and the principles, the very principles on which our European Union is founded.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, In our meeting this morning, we also addressed several challenges and issues that are challenging to us, such as the illegal Russian aggression in Ukraine, migration and energy security. A large extent of our discussions also focussed around the increasing cost of living and inflation. We are under unprecedented pressures due to price hikes on energy and food at previously unheard levels, and we might not have reached the peak yet. We know the reasons behind this phenomenon. It stems from the pandemic, our energy supply, but also on pricing speculation and therefore we need action and we need it now.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, And there are decisions that we can take now. We can take decisions and actions together to limit the impact, whether it is capping of bills, fixing our pricing systems, or decoupling the price of electricity from gas. These are things that we can do now, even temporarily, to offset the immediate pressures while we implement Longer-Term Strategies. Ultimately, this is what people expect from us and this is what we must deliver. But we can only do this if we do it together. I will leave it at this and I am very happy to take any of your questions.

Q&amp;A, On the possibility of sanctions for Turkey.

Q&A, On the possibility of using the newly discovered natural gas fleet in Cyprus to achieve energy independence from Russia.