The assumption of the presidency of the Council of the European Union by Cyprus coincides with a period of intense international fluidity, where certainties are receding and cynicism is returning as a dominant tool of political practice. Cynicism has never been absent from international relations, but what we are seeing from the policy of the United States has no precedent in recent decades.
Developments in Venezuela, with the prolonged political and humanitarian crisis, as well as the reappearance of a raw, transactional logic in American foreign policy under Donald Trump, create an environment in which power is projected without pretexts as a means of achieving political and economic goals.
In this setting, the European Union is called upon to balance between its values and the need to remain geopolitically relevant, meaning not to be a mere extra. The responsibility lies with the member states of the Union. It is easy and convenient to refer to Brussels as a center of power without global geopolitical weight, but in reality Brussels can go only as far as the member states allow, and the member states until today do not wish to shape a common foreign policy.
The Trump approach, with emphasis on power, bilateral agreements and raw negotiation, directly challenges the multilateral system in which Europe has historically invested.
Venezuela serves as a reminder of the limits of the international community. Sanctions, statements and resolutions are not enough when a coherent strategy is absent, one that combines pressure, dialogue and real support for the societies that are being tested.
Cyprus, as a small member state with unresolved security issues and strong geopolitical exposure in the Eastern Mediterranean, knows well what power politics means. This very experience can be turned into an advantage. It can highlight the need for a Europe that will not imitate the cynicism of the great powers but will redefine its role through strategic autonomy, cohesion and consistency between words and actions.
The dominance of cynicism in international relations requires an equally sober and realistic way of thinking for our national issue. Not as an abandonment of principles but as a recognition of reality. Solutions arise when interests align and when the costs of inaction become greater than the benefits of stagnation.
The Cypriot presidency can and must make use of this momentum by placing the Cyprus issue within a broader European and geopolitical framework of security, energy and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. In a world where cynicism is the rule, realism is not a retreat but a condition for survival and the only path toward a sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem.