One of the vice-presidents of the European Commission will take on the role of envoy for the Cyprus problem, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last night, with the appointment to be made today.
According to philenews information, Nicosia and Brussels had long agreed that the appointment should be upgraded.
The move signals von der Leyen’s intentions regarding the European Union’s further involvement in the Cyprus problem. Choosing a Commission vice-president raises the institutional weight of European participation and directly strengthens the process by tying it to the Commission itself.
Von der Leyen, in a post on Sunday evening, sought to send a clear message about the European Commission’s interest in the Cyprus problem, while signalling that the EU would be present in a substantive way in the new effort undertaken by the United Nations.
The announcement of the appointment comes almost simultaneously with a meeting later today in Paris between President Nikos Christodoulides and von der Leyen. María Ángela Holguín will also be in Brussels today, where she has already scheduled a meeting with European Council President António Costa.
Von der Leyen said in her post that she had spoken by phone with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday, expressing optimism about developments on the Cyprus problem and her intention to announce a new special representative on behalf of the Commission for the Cyprus problem today.
Von der Leyen said “we can sense a renewed dynamic to resolve the Cyprus problem” within the UN framework and in line with EU principles, values and law.
She added that the Commission was ready to support the effort with all necessary assistance and means at its disposal, and said a new special representative for the Cyprus problem would be named today, ahead of intensified European involvement.
Former EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn resigned on March 23 from his position as the European Commission’s special envoy for the Cyprus problem, after taking up the presidency of the General Council of the Austrian Central Bank. Hahn had been appointed to the role in May 2025, following an initiative to strengthen European Union involvement in talks on Cyprus’s reunification.
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