A sentence on regional security and a change in the placement of a sentence on the Cyprus Problem were some of the changes included in the second draft of conclusions ahead of the summit of the European Council (April 17th – 18th), which was circulated on Monday.
The draft also includes extended references to the situation in the Middle East after the Iranian attack against Israel (as a response to the bombing of a building of the Iranian embassy in Damascus), while also calling on all parties to refrain from actions that could increase regional tensions. Furthermore, the draft includes references to the situation in Lebanon and the need for support to the country and its people.
On EU – Turkey relations, the new sentence included in the first paragraph points out that the EU ‘has a strategic interest in a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the development of a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Trkiye’. The sentence is added after the reference to a strateg
ic debate to be held by the 27, and before the request for work on the joint communication on EU – Turkey relations to be taken forward ‘in a phased, proportionate and reversible manner, subject to additional guidance from the European Council as needed’.
The second change to the draft is the move of a sentence underlining that the EU ‘attaches considerable importance to resumption of and progress in the Cyprus settlement talks which can also enhance EU – Trkiye cooperation’ from the end to the beginning of the paragraph.
Source: Cyprus News Agency