- 3 months ago
Prezydent Cypru optymistycznie nastawiony do zjednoczenia wyspy
W obszernym ekskluzywnym wywiadzie dla Euronews prezydent Cypru Nikos Christodoulides mówi o swojej wizji przyszłości kraju, Unii Europejskiej i pokoju w Strefie Gazy.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2025/10/24/prezydent-cypru-optymistycznie-nastawiony-do-zjednoczenia-wyspy
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W obszernym ekskluzywnym wywiadzie dla Euronews prezydent Cypru Nikos Christodoulides mówi o swojej wizji przyszłości kraju, Unii Europejskiej i pokoju w Strefie Gazy.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2025/10/24/prezydent-cypru-optymistycznie-nastawiony-do-zjednoczenia-wyspy
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
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NewsTranscript
00:00Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone.
00:08Witam na Europie Konferencji.
00:10I'm Stefan Grober.
00:12His country only became a member
00:14of the European Union in 2004,
00:16but it has one of the oldest
00:18histories of human civilization
00:20in the world.
00:21He's one of only four heads of state
00:23in the European Council.
00:24He will assume the rotating
00:26EU presidency next January
00:28and he is my guest today,
00:30the president of Cyprus,
00:32Nikos Christodoulidis.
00:34Welcome to the program.
00:35Thank you so much for coming.
00:36Good morning, Stefan.
00:37Thank you very much for the invitation.
00:39It's a great pleasure to be here.
00:41I mentioned Cyprus's history
00:43of 9,000 years.
00:45Now, you are a historian.
00:47You worked at the University of Cyprus.
00:49I wonder how can Cypriots
00:52and Europeans at large benefit
00:54from a historian as a president?
00:57You know, history, as you know very well,
01:01repeats itself.
01:02So, knowing the history,
01:04and not only the history of your country,
01:06but the history of your region,
01:07the European history,
01:08the whole history,
01:09helps you in a way
01:11how you approach today's challenges
01:14and how you tackle the challenges
01:16that we have ahead of us.
01:18So, I think history is very important to be known
01:23and taking under consideration what happened
01:27is a great benefit in order to face today's challenges.
01:31So, as of January, you have another task on your plate,
01:35when Cyprus will take over the EU presidency from Denmark.
01:39I guess many of the problems will remain,
01:43but what can we expect here in Brussels?
01:45Will there be a Cypriot way of doing business,
01:49of conducting diplomacy?
01:51For sure, we are going to have a Cypriot touch
01:54in the way the European Union approaches,
01:57you know, the issues that we have in front of us.
02:00We have two major priorities.
02:04The first one is how to tangibly enhance
02:08the strategic autonomy of the European Union.
02:11And when I see strategic autonomy,
02:13I don't mean just defence and security,
02:15I will explain in a little bit.
02:17And the second one is to bring the European Union
02:20closer to our region,
02:22to Middle East, to the greater Middle East.
02:25You know, Cyprus is a member state of the European Union,
02:28as you very correctly mentioned, since 2004,
02:30but at the same time we are part of the Middle East.
02:33We are half an hour flight away from Libanon,
02:3740 minutes from Israel, 50 minutes from Egypt,
02:4050 minutes from Jordan, half an hour from Syria, and so on.
02:45So I'm going to our first priority,
02:48which is to enhance the European Union's strategic autonomy.
02:53As a European Union, we are,
02:57and we used to be more in the past,
03:00dependent on our security from the United States.
03:04As a European Union, we are dependent on energy from Russia.
03:09from Russia.
03:10As a European Union, we are dependent on our raw materials from China.
03:15So, how can we be strategically autonomous and play a leading role,
03:22the role that our citizens are expecting from us to play,
03:27as a European Union, if we are dependent on three other countries?
03:32For example, MFF, one of the most important files of the European Union.
03:38The Danish presidency is doing an excellent job,
03:40and we are going to continue from the Danish presidency.
03:45For us, it is not just the budget of the European Union for the next seven years.
03:50The multi-annual financial framework is the political,
03:54the most important political tool to show to our people
03:57where we want the European Union to be in the next seven years.
04:02So, the multi-annual financial framework, of course,
04:04should reflect the traditional, if I may say, files of the European Union,
04:09cohesion policy, common agriculture policy, etc.,
04:12but at the same time should reflect the priorities of the European Union today.
04:18Let me throw some key words in here. You mentioned security. I mentioned Ukraine.
04:27Do you think you're going to see the end of the war in Ukraine during your presidency?
04:33To be fully honest with you, I don't see this coming.
04:37I don't see the end of the war in Ukraine coming.
04:41But as a European Union, we should continue our clear position
04:47towards the illegal Russian invasion and occupation in Ukraine.
04:53We need to support Ukraine. We need to continue supporting Ukraine.
04:56And within this context, I will let you know that I'm planning on December 4,
05:01ahead of our presidency, to visit Kyiv, to visit Ukraine,
05:05to show that even Cyprus is coming from the Middle East.
05:10We are not part of the, let's say, Eastern Europe.
05:13Ukraine will continue to be our priority.
05:17Another hot topic all across Europe is immigration.
05:22The numbers of illegal immigrants are going down,
05:25yet it is still, in the mind of very many Europeans, the number one issue.
05:30What has Europe learned over the past years?
05:34And is the path that Europe charted the right one?
05:39The numbers today are much better, as you very correctly mentioned.
05:42But if we want to solve this problem, because there's another aspect,
05:47illegal migration kills legal migration.
05:50And as Europe, we need legal migration.
05:54But in order to really face the problem of migration, we need to concentrate as a European Union,
06:02and that's what we are planning to do as a presidency, to face the root causes of migration.
06:09We need to talk with the countries that migrants are coming in order to create the condition in those countries for their people not to leave and come in Europe.
06:22So the most important aspect, if we really want to face migration, is to face the root causes of the phenomenon.
06:30And how do we do that?
06:31Working together with the countries, supporting them, if we don't create the conditions in those countries,
06:36in order for the young people, for example, to stay in their countries,
06:40I mean, economic conditions, political conditions, etc.,
06:43then we'll never face the problem of illegal migration.
06:48Speaking of coming to Europe, enlargement, a topic that has been dormant for many, many years,
06:55but now we're going to see some action here, some activity.
06:59Do you think that Europe is ready for another round of enlargement?
07:06I remember back in 2014, President Juncker saying that by 2024 we're going to have the next enlargement of the European Union.
07:15And we're in 2025, and of course we don't see enlargement, and nobody's talking with enlargement.
07:22Enlargement is one of the most important geopolitical tools of the European Union,
07:28and I'm afraid to say that we are losing this very important tool because we did a lot of promises and we didn't deliver.
07:37So that is why during our presidency we want to see an important positive step towards enlargement.
07:46And I think we can have positive developments, especially with Montenegro.
07:50I visited Montenegro ahead of our presidency, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of European Affairs.
07:57We visited all member states plus candidate countries in order to prepare ourselves,
08:03because we want to listen to our partners, we want to listen to our candidate countries in order to be ready during our presidency.
08:09And I think with Montenegro we have, it's a small country, so the dilemma, more integration or enlargement is not so...
08:18So we can face this dilemma, and I think we can bring Montenegro closer to the accession to the European Union.
08:27Because if we don't have positive developments on enlargement, I'm very concerned that the people in those countries,
08:33the candidate countries, and in some countries we see this, they will turn their back to the European Union,
08:39and they will find other ways. And we see in the Balkans, for example, Western Balkans,
08:44we see a number of other actors, non-EU actors, having a leading role,
08:51because those countries, they don't believe anymore in the prospect of joining the European Union.
08:57Speaking about money, it's a kind of a topic that is not in the big headlines, but it is a very serious problem,
09:05and that is public debt. Many member states are suffering from public debt that is no longer sustainable.
09:14Is austerity a word that we're going to use more often in the future?
09:21No, I don't believe on austerity, I believe on responsible fiscal policy.
09:28And I'm very glad to say that being in power in Cyprus for two and a half years now,
09:33our public debt is less than 60% of GDP.
09:38When we won the elections back in March 2023, public debt was approximately 75% of our GDP.
09:46And not through austerity, through responsible fiscal policy, we have these results today.
09:52It was actually 115% five years ago, so you've come a long way.
09:56Cyprus also has one of the highest budget surpluses in the European Union, 1.3%, and a growth outlook of 3% until 2027.
10:09Employment rate less than 5%, which is actually the biggest challenge for us now to bring back to Cyprus talent.
10:18That's why we initiated a campaign starting from London, from brain drain to brain gain in order to bring Cypriots and Europeans back to Cyprus.
10:30And Cyprus has been upgraded by all the major rating agencies recently.
10:34Exactly.
10:35So, how do you do this? I mean, if you walk in here, speaking to your European colleagues, they must be jealous.
10:43Responsible fiscal policy. Whatever we promise to people, we deliver. But we promise to people only what we can deliver.
10:55Let's talk about the situation in the Middle East now. You've said at the beginning, no country in the EU was closer to the region than Cyprus.
11:06How do you see the peace process going forward? But first of all, you were at the signing ceremony of the ceasefire agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh.
11:14Tell us about it. How was it?
11:17First of all, it was a great honor for Cyprus to be invited, to be there, being invited by President Sisi and President Trump.
11:26We welcome the initiative of President Trump. I don't underestimate the challenges that we have ahead of us.
11:36But we need to work with all partners in the region in order to implement the plan of President Trump.
11:45And that is why, before going to Sharm el-Sheikh, I talked with the President of the Commission, with the President of the Council.
11:51I talked with President Sisi, the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of the UAE, His Majesty, the King of Georgetown, in order to work together, in order to safeguard the implementation of the plan.
12:08There is no other alternative right now in front of us. And that is why, working especially with the Commission, we presented, Cyprus presented a very specific plan in order to help to the implementation of the 20-point Gaza peace plan of President Trump.
12:29And allow me, our plan, based also on our excellent relations with all stakeholders, we have excellent relations with Israel, we have excellent relations with all Arab partners in the region, excellent relations with the United States, being member state of the European Union, being member of the state of the region.
12:50We prepared this plan, which touches on the humanitarian aid delivery. It's the points of 0.7 and 0.10 of President Trump's plan. Secured goods and dual-use screening, the points 13 and 15 of President Trump's plan.
13:11Third point, rabble removal and reconstruction enablement, the points of 0.2, 10 and 14 of President Trump's plan. Training, stabilisation and reconciliation support, 0.9, 15 and 18 of President Trump's plan.
13:28Contribution to the international stabilisation force, 0.15 of President Trump's plan. And the sixth point, contribution to the economic development plan, which is 0.10 of President Trump's plan.
13:41So, we put forward these very specific ideas, building, as I told you, on our excellent relations with all stakeholders, building on our previous initiative.
13:53You know, Cyprus presented back in October 23 in Paris, following the terrorist attack of Gaza, an idea for a humanitarian maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza.
14:06And we did it. We delivered with the support of our partners, the European Union, the United States, UK, UAE.
14:13And we are ready, at this stage, as a representative of the European Union, in the region, to deliver once again.
14:22What about rebuilding and reconstructing Gaza? This is, for the people who live there, the most obvious necessity.
14:31Do you have an idea when this can start, how long it would take, who will be the players, and what role does Cyprus have?
14:39That is why it's very important to implement the first phase of President Trump's plan.
14:44Because if we don't have a ceasefire, if we don't have the political conditions there, we cannot talk about rebuilding.
14:50When we reach the stage of ceasefire, and the conditions are there, reconstruction should start.
15:00And that is why point three of our proposal is the rappel removal and reconstruction enabling.
15:05So, development, and this is the role that Cyprus can play, development of maritime routes for rappel extraction and inbound construction materials in Gaza,
15:17in order to support Gaza's rebuilding and, of course, economic revival.
15:22What about the two-state solution, an initiative that is very much liked in Brussels?
15:31President Trump doesn't like it so much. Israelis don't like it so much. Is this still a viable option?
15:39There is no alternative to the two-state solution. Let's be clear.
15:44And we cannot reach peace in the region without the solution of the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution.
15:55That was pretty clear. Speaking of a two-state solution, that is something that Turkish President Erdogan has mentioned when he was in New York,
16:05speaking about the Cyprus dispute. And he said, with the same clarity, he said there is no other solution.
16:13Where do you respond?
16:14What I mentioned is a two-state solution for the Palestinian issue.
16:18This is what the UN Security Council resolutions are talking about.
16:24In the case of Cyprus, the Security Council resolutions, the international community, the European Union, everybody is clear.
16:32The solution of the Cyprus problem should be based on by zonal, by communal federation.
16:36And it's only Mr. Erdogan that is promoting this unacceptable idea for a two-state solution that there is no way even to discuss such a possibility in Cyprus.
16:48I hope I was so clear as I was before with the Palestinian issue.
16:55So, a few days ago, in the northern part of Cyprus, a very pro-European candidate won in a landslide, Tufan Erhuman.
17:07How do you assess this outcome? Does it give you hope? Could this be a potential game-changer?
17:12Indeed. Last week, we have voting procedures in the occupied areas of Cyprus for the leadership, for the Turkish-Cypriot leadership.
17:23And Mr. Tufan, the leader who, during the election campaign, was saying that he's against two-state solution.
17:34He's against what President Erdogan was saying in the UN General Assembly, was elected.
17:41I believe that this is a positive development, but we want to see at the table of the negotiations.
17:49What is important is during the resumption of the talks, and I'm ready to resume negotiations even next week,
17:57what is going to be presented by the Turkish-Cypriot and the Turkish side.
18:02So, if Mr. the new leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community comes to the negotiating table and talks clearly about bi-zonal, bi-communal federation,
18:13then I think the road is open for the solution of the Cyprus problem based on the UN Security Council resolution.
18:21So, you would be ready to sit down with him?
18:23I'm ready to sit with him next week.
18:25You have written, I think, two books about the Cyprus conflict, and being a historian and looking at things in large perspectives.
18:36What is the perspective for Cyprus of being united?
18:40You know what people feel on the island, on both sides.
18:44What is your sense?
18:46The current status quo cannot be the solution of the Cyprus problem.
18:54The solution of the Cyprus problem to reunite our country is the only option ahead of us.
19:01And from my side, I will do whatever is necessary in order first to resume negotiations and then solve the Cyprus problem.
19:10There is no frozen conflict.
19:12You see what happened in Gaza.
19:14Everybody was under the impression that we have a frozen conflict there.
19:19And since October, we've seen the developments and the tragedy in Gaza.
19:26So, if we want to reach the full potential of our country, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots,
19:34we need to reunite our country.
19:37Reunite our country, member state of the European Union.
19:40And being a member of the European Union is the best guarantee for the future of our country.
19:48All right.
19:49Nikos Christoglidis, president of Cyprus.
19:51Thank you, sir, for a great Europe conversation.
19:54Thank you very much.
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