President Nikos Christodoulides met on Thursday morning with EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, underlining the importance for the European Union as a whole of strengthening the mutual assistance clause under Article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the DEFEA defence and security exhibition in Athens. According to the Presidential Palace, Christodoulides told Kubilius that “we are working hard during our (EU) Presidency and we are already seeing positive results in the areas of defence and security”. He described Article 42.7 as an important tool for the EU and noted that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had made specific reference to the role of the Defence Commissioner in her discussions with him.
Turning to the defence industry, Christodoulides said he believes strongly in the prospects of Cyprus’ defence sector, describing it as promising. He added that he was encouraged by the number of significant defence and security investments taking place in Cyprus from countries such as India, Israel and others.
For his part, the Commissioner praised the substantial and important work being carried out under the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU and the tangible results achieved, said the Palace press release.
The discussion also covered efforts by European countries to further strengthen the mutual assistance clause under Article 42.7, the upgrading of the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos and the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base in Mari for use by European and other countries. The two also discussed Cyprus’ participation in the EU’s financial instrument for defence spending, Security Action for Europe (SAFE), from which the country is expected to draw €1.18 billion, as well as developments related to the Cypriot defence industry.
Christodoulides is due to meet with Greek National Defence Minister Nikos Dendias during his brief stay in Athens. He will return to Cyprus this afternoon.
Before flying to Greece, the President was in Yerevan attending the European Political Community summit, an informal gathering of EU and non-EU European leaders to discuss security and stability on the continent.
In the Armenian capital, Christodoulides had highlighted the need to address the “fundamental shift” in Europe’s security landscape, arguing that the multiple challenges facing the continent go beyond the EU’s borders to demand a “whole-of-Europe” response.