European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told President Nikos Christodoulides that he can be proud of what Cyprus achieved during its presidency of the Council of the European Union, which ended more than three months ago. In a letter obtained exclusively by Phileleftheros, she lists 12 achievements in seven areas. Two of them are concluded legislative agreements, on air passenger rights and on the coordination of social security systems.
Von der Leyen wrote that the air passenger rights agreement was the first major revision of the rules in two decades, and noted that the rules matter greatly to the daily lives of European citizens.
The social security agreement, reached after a decade of negotiations, revises the rules on coordinating social security systems. She said it reflected the presidency’s commitment and was an important step towards modernising the rules and strengthening fair labour mobility.
She singled out Cyprus’s role as a vital bridge to the Middle East at a time of deep uncertainty and geoeconomic challenges, saying it had helped the EU stay closely connected to the region when dialogue mattered most.
The remaining ten achievements involve progress or the start of preparations for further negotiations. Von der Leyen wrote that the presidency had delivered results on some of Europe’s most important priorities. She placed first the agreement on the architecture of the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU’s long-term budget, which she said confirmed the Commission’s ambition for a simpler, future-ready budget.
She described Cyprus’s proposal for a negotiating box with figures, and the partial general approaches reached on files including Global Europe, Horizon Europe and the European Competitiveness Fund, as a solid basis for the coming negotiations.
She welcomed the steps taken to strengthen the EU’s collective support for Ukraine. These included finalising a 90 billion euro support loan, which allows the first disbursements to be made in 2026, and keeping up pressure on Russia through a 20th package of sanctions.
The work done under the presidency to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness deserved particular recognition, she added. She highlighted the momentum built around the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap, signed with President Metsola, and said it would bring significant benefits to businesses. Considerable progress on the omnibus simplification packages would do the same, she wrote. Together, they would make growth easier, cut administrative burdens and unlock the full potential of the single market.
Von der Leyen also praised progress on enlargement and on strengthening the EU’s global partnerships. She said developments with Ukraine and Moldova, including the opening of the first negotiating cluster, and with Montenegro and Albania, confirmed that enlargement remained one of the EU’s most powerful strategic tools.
