'We are quite resilient when it comes to pressure'
Cyprus might be one of Europe’s smallest nations, but the divided Mediterranean island was no pushover during its time at the helm of the EU’s rotating presidency.
In an interview with Euractiv, Marilena Raouna, the Cypriot deputy minister for European affairs, vehemently denied that small member states can be pushed around while running the EU’s critical Council machinery.
“Never,” she said, when asked if Cyprus was treated as easier to push around because of its size. “We are quite resilient when it comes to pressure. This is how our diplomacy has learned to evolve.”
Her island is steeled by history. More than a third of Cyprus is not under the control of the government in Nicosia but of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – only recognised internationally by Turkey.
