EU protests exclusion of Cyprus from COP31 preparatory meetings

The European Union has formally challenged Turkey over the exclusion of the Republic of Cyprus from preparatory meetings for the COP31 climate summit, scheduled to take place in Antalya in November. During a meeting of EU climate ministers on Thursday, Cypriot Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou reported that Cyprus was excluded from preparatory events held in New York and Tokyo. EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra stated that the 27 member states must be treated equally and characterized the exclusion as unacceptable. Turkey maintains that Cyprus has been invited to all UN-coordinated events, such as meetings in Bonn and St. Petersburg. Ankara argues that the New York and Tokyo gatherings were national-level initiatives held outside the formal UNFCCC structure, and therefore it is not obligated to invite entities it does not diplomatically recognize. Turkish officials further noted that the official invitation process for the leaders' summit has not yet commenced. The EU has signaled it will communicate its position clearly to the Turkish presidency, Australian representatives, and the United Nations.