Nicosia: The Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU has announced new dates for the informal EU ministerial meetings that were postponed earlier this month. The initial schedule was disrupted due to complications with flights to and from Cyprus, impacted by regional developments.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the revised schedule includes a videoconference for the Informal COMPET Research meeting of Ministers for Research and Innovation on March 31. The meetings rescheduled to take place in Cyprus with in-person attendance include the Informal TTE Telecom meeting on April 29-30, the Informal GAC meeting on May 10-11, the Eurogroup meeting originally set for March 22, the Informal ECOFIN meeting on May 22-23, the Informal EYCS Culture meeting on June 1-2, the Informal GAC Cohesion meeting on June 4-5, and the Informal FAC Defence meeting on June 7-8.
The Presidency has also decided to conduct the remaining technocratic-level meetings via videoconference during March. Stella Michael, the spokesperson for the Cyprus Presidency, stated that the adjustments were made to ensure the continuity of work and the smooth participation of EU member states and institutions in the meetings.
The rescheduling follows an incident on March 2, when a Shahed-type drone struck military facilities in the British Bases at Akrotiri, southern Cyprus, amid regional tensions following US-Israeli actions against Iran. The attack, attributed to Hezbollah in Lebanon, led to increased security measures and military deployments from Greece, France, and the UK to protect Cyprus. Nicosia has emphasized its non-involvement in the Middle East conflict.