Marking the final GAC of the Cyprus EU Council Presidency, Deputy Minister Marilena Raouna takes the chair to push through negotiations on the €1 trillion+ 2028-2034 EU budget and lock down historic accession milestones for Ukraine and Moldova.

Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna will chair, Tuesday, the General Affairs Council of the European Union, the last one under the Cyprus Presidency.

The Ministers, a press release issued by the Secretariat of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU said, will discuss the preparations for the European Council Summit on 18-19 June in Brussels with important issues on the agenda, such as developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, the new Multiannual Financial Framework, global economic challenges in the light of strengthening the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of the EU, European defence and security, migration, illicit drugs and the European Semester.

The agenda of the General Affairs Council also includes a public debate on the draft negotiating box for the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034 presented by the Cyprus Presidency, as well as on the three main components of the new MFF (Regulation establishing the European Fund for Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, Regulation establishing the European Competitiveness Fund, Regulation establishing the Global Europe Facility).

The Council will also discuss the adoption of the eighteen-month programme of the next Trio Presidencies of Ireland, Lithuania and Greece, as well as a review of the progress report prepared by the Cyprus Presidency on the state of play of the work on the "Omnibus" legislative packages for simplification.

In the context of the 2026 European Semester, Ministers are also expected to approve and transmit to the European Council the horizontal note on the integrated country-specific recommendations. In the context of the Article 7 procedure, Ministers will be informed about the rule of law situation in Hungary.

An informal breakfast meeting on the European Shield for Democracy and Democratic Resilience with the participation of candidate countries and a potential candidate country will also take place.

On Monday, the Deputy Minister will chair, on behalf of the EU, the 27th EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference, as well as the EU Intergovernmental Conferences with Ukraine and Moldova, which will mark the opening of negotiations on the first group of chapters on fundamental principles and values.

The Deputy Minister will also travel to Strasbourg, where she will represent, on Wednesday, the Council of the EU in the plenary session of the European Parliament.

Source: CNA(ΚΥΠΕ)