Nicosia will host the 4th Euro-Mediterranean Energy Ministerial Meeting on December 17, it was announced at the end of the ninth Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Affairs held in Lisbon from 5-6 November.
An official press release said during the meeting, ministers from 37 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership will take part and will adopt the ”Priority Action Programme for Euro-Mediterranean Energy Cooperation” for the forthcoming period, including the operational take off of the Rome Euro-Mediterranean Energy Platform (REMEP).
Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis represented Cyprus at the Lisbon Euro-Med meeting where ministers reaffirmed their commitment to pursue their efforts to realise the Barcelona Declaration objectives, i.e. to establish a common area of peace and stability, to create an area of shared prosperity and to develop a partnership in social, cultural and human affairs.
In her intervention before the meeting, Marcoullis stressed the challenges faced by countries of the Barcelona process and the Mediterranean’s obligation to become a centre for peace and cooperation.
Within this framework, Marcoullis expressed Cyprus’ readiness to become more actively and constructively involved in the discussion to form a Euro-Mediterranean Union proposed by French President Nikola Sarkozy and was presented during the two-day meeting.
Referring to the Middle East issue, Marcoullis expressed the hope that the forthcoming Annapolis meeting will push forward in the direction of an overall and just solution to the issue through the creation of a viable Palestinian State.
At the same time, she said no international issue can be resolved if the solution is not agreed or complies with international law and the relevant UN Security Council decisions.
Marcoullis outlined the priorities of Cyprus within the framework of the Barcelona process, which include the fight against terrorism through security in the field of sea transport, optimizing the social and economic benefits of immigration and cooperating to fight illegal immigration, as well as strengthening the role of women in the economic, social and political scene of their countries.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Marcoullis met the Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Al Maliki where they examined the latest developments in the Middle East issue and ways to strengthen developmental cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and the Palestinian Authority.
