Government Spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Friday sharply criticised Parliament's decision on Thursday night to reject the government's request to extend the term of Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna until the end of the year.
A post created for the EU Presidency
Ms Raouna took office in January 2024, appointed to oversee Cyprus' six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2026. Under the legislation that created the post, it is due to cease to exist at the end of July, one month after the conclusion of the Presidency. The same procedure was followed in 2012-2013, when Andreas Mavroyiannis, appointed by the late President Demetris Christofias for the island's first EU Presidency, stepped down as deputy minister on 31 January 2013.
On this occasion, however, the government sought a five-month extension, which Parliament declined to approve.
'One change they had to study'
Mr Letymbiotis said a two-page bill of great importance for the country and its national aspirations was rejected, dismissing the argument by DISY MP Demetris Demetriou that the urgent procedure left no time to study it. The only change requiring study, he said, was "replacing the date of July 31, 2026 with the date of December 13, 2026".
He also rejected the position expressed by DISY MP Onoufrios Koulla that the deputy ministry is not needed, noting that 22 EU member states maintain an organised political structure for European issues, and that Cyprus is a country with a national issue, critical European negotiations ahead and a Cyprus problem whose European dimension is gaining importance. The argument that the Republic managed without the structure for 22 years of EU membership was, he said, "anachronistic, to say the least". "States evolve. Needs change. European politics today requires knowledge, continuity, contacts, presence and organised handling," he added.
The EU budget at stake
The spokesman said the extension was important because critical consultations are under way on the EU's next multiannual financial framework, the bloc's budget for 2028-2034, which will determine the resources Cyprus secures for the next seven years, including funds for villages, towns and cities, farmers, cohesion, migration, defence and security. In Brussels, efforts are focused on reaching agreement by the end of the year, before elections in France and Poland in 2027 risk complicating negotiations.
"In this discussion, what counts is knowledge, experience, the relationships built during Cyprus' presidency and the country's ability to intervene in an organised and effective manner," he said.
Mr Letymbiotis also criticised AKEL, which voted against the proposal, saying the party "remained faithful to its well-known woodenness", and accused DISY of standing against its European origins. "At such moments, votes are not counted, they are weighed, and yesterday, priorities, judgements and motivations were weighed. Unfortunately, other things prevailed," he said, adding that he expects Parliament to reconsider next week.
