Cyprus concludes EU presidency with launch of new island and coastal strategies

On Friday, President Nikos Christodoulides officially concluded the six-month Cyprus EU presidency at a high-level conference in Paphos. During the event, two European Commission strategies were introduced aimed at supporting EU islands and coastal communities. These strategies establish a comprehensive framework to address challenges such as connectivity, climate change, water security, and coastal erosion. Statistics cited during the conference highlighted that 17 million people inhabit over 4,000 EU islands, while 95 million reside in coastal areas spanning 70,000 kilometers. The president noted that 17 member states possess island regions and 22 have coastal areas. Christodoulides emphasized that these regions are central to European policy, despite their geographical peripherality. The conference also served to review the achievements of the Cyprus presidency, which addressed geopolitical issues, defense, and the EU's long-term budget.