This afternoon’s plenary session hosted Cypriot minister of European affairs, Andreas Mavroyiannis, who came to present the priorities of the Cyprus presidency of the Council of the European Union. Since the previous day’s Bureau meeting had heard a balance sheet of the Danish presidency, there was a clear sense of the baton being handed over, smoothly. This is the first Cyprus presidency and is therefore a flagship occasion for a relatively new member state. Mavroyiannis explained how Cyprus will work, across all policy domains, towards an ever more efficient and sustainable Europe, working in a consensual manner to provide coherence and continuity in the Council’s work so as to create a ‘filoxenos topos’ – a hospitable place.
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