00:00for The View from Cyprus, who's held the EU rotating presidency for the past six months.
00:04I'm joined now here in the studio by Minister Mariana Rauna, Deputy Minister for European
00:09Affairs for Cyprus. Good morning, Minister. Good morning, Maeve. Good to have you here.
00:12Glad to be here 12 days before the end of our project. I know, it's been quite a busy period
00:17for you, so we're thrilled that you made it here to Europe today. And of course, on the 15th of
00:21June there, you did manage to open the first accession negotiations cluster, the first step
00:25so to these talks that can kick off for Ukraine to one day potentially enter the EU. Do you
00:30hope, though, to open the next cluster before you end the presidency?
00:34Indeed, we had this milestone step in the accession negotiations of Ukraine, as well as Moldova
00:41this week, the second accession conference, opening cluster one. We worked extremely hard
00:47to get to this day. We made it very clear from the beginning that supporting Ukraine on all
00:52France was a top priority of the Cyprus presidency. We were led to this milestone step after having
01:01done all the front-loading work, all the technical work on all the clusters. We completed them.
01:07We presented those results at the General Affairs Council in March.
01:13So do you want to open another one?
01:14So we will remain ambitious until the very last day of our presidency, and we will work
01:21with all member states and make all efforts to have even more positive developments. That
01:27I can say.
01:28But not over-promising something that perhaps you cannot deliver.
01:32I cannot prejudge, but what I can say is that we are working on it, and we will continue working
01:37on it. There is momentum that has been created by this accession conference, and we want to
01:42continue building on that.
01:44And your country is unique in the sense that you're the only EU country with a portion of
01:48its territory under occupation. How has that influenced your decisions when it comes to Ukraine?
01:52It has given us a very unique perspective, Maeve. Cyprus is the last member state under military
01:57occupation that has experienced the devastating effects of the Turkish invasion that are enduring.
02:04This has given us a unique perspective into what is happening in Ukraine. And it has really driven
02:11our commitment and our work for work. We delivered on the Ukraine support loan, the 90 billion loan.
02:19We delivered on the 20th sanctions package, and we're already working on the 21st sanctions
02:25package.
02:26And let's move on to the long-term budget, because everyone in town is talking about this
02:29long-term budget. Of course, it'll be up to the Irish presidency to really push it through.
02:33As you heard there from our correspondent, Shona Murray, the stakes couldn't be higher.
02:37Now, you've proposed a cut, a 2% cut to the budget. Why?
02:41So, this was one of our most demanding files, our most challenging files. And that made us work
02:47extra hard with transparency, with inclusivity since day one of our presidency. On the volume of the...
02:54And we've put on the table the first revised negotiating box that actually has figures. And in
03:01addition to that, we delivered an agreement on the three important central files.
03:05This is the so-called nego box. But nobody likes this box.
03:09Nego box.
03:09The Dutch have called it the no-go box.
03:11No one likes the first nego box with figures. We were well prepared with that.
03:16We are, however, confident, having worked intensively with all member states, that we
03:21worked as true-honest brokers, and that in this nego box, which is a basis for negotiation,
03:27it is not the end of the road. There is something for every member state. We proposed a moderate
03:332% cut, bringing together as a compromise, and there were very opposing views on that,
03:40on some member states who wanted an ambitious budget, some member states wanted an even
03:45increased budget, and those member states who wanted extensive cuts.
03:49So the pressure will be on the Irish presidency now, with so many elections taking place next
03:52year. But just, you mentioned, you're a small country, you're a so-called honest broker.
03:57Just on that point, you spoke last night to Bruno Le Maire, the former economy minister
04:01of France, and he had some suggestions on how the EU could work a bit better. Take a look.
04:05All the European leaders must draw from the past month, and I would say from the past two
04:11years, that if they want to be relevant and strong, they need to be united. And they don't
04:18need to be united with the 27 member states. They need to give a new impetus to the European
04:23construction by building a European with six core countries. France, Germany, Italy, Spain,
04:31Poland, and the Netherlands. Six countries, instead of 27 countries, is the best way of
04:38reinforcing Europe, of facing the threats posed by many empires around the world, and to get
04:45some concrete results.
04:46Your reaction to that, minister? How does that make small countries feel?
04:49I would say that the European Union is a union of 27, of 27 equal member states, bigger and
04:56smaller. Are decisions difficult to reach when you have 27 around the table?
05:00Absolutely. But unity is the greatest asset of the European Union, and particularly now
05:07when we see the complexities and the multitude of challenges that we face. But we have also
05:13proven something made in the last two years. In the midst of truly unprecedented challenges
05:20that we have faced, the European Union was able to deliver on all fronts. Unanimity has not
05:29been difficult, but we have always found a way, and we need to maintain our unity.
05:35Okay. And your presidency, of course, slightly overshadowed there by the U.S.-Iran war minister.
05:40Thank you so much.
05:41I wouldn't say overshadowed.
05:43Thank you so much.
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