Cyprus’ Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Maria Panayiotou, who chaired the final Environment Council session under the Cyprus presidency on Thursday in Luxembourg, noted that the EU Cyprus presidency focused on “strengthening Europe’s leadership in addressing climate and environmental challenges, while safeguarding a resilient and competitive union.”
Panayiotou noted that over the six months of the Cyprus EU presidency, progress was made on implementing the water resilience strategy, while on climate policy agreements were reached on the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) for ETS2, a general approach on the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the framework for CO2 standards for cars and vans moved forward.
The presidency also advanced the circular economy and pollution agenda: Council conclusions were adopted on the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, and progress was made on the Environmental Omnibus. On the international level, Panayiotou said the presidency worked “to ensure a coordinated, more strategic and assertive EU position in major global environmental negotiations, especially the upcoming COP31.”
