President Nikos Christodoulides has sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanding that the European Union resume discussions on its mutual defence clause, after the matter found itself at the centre of discussions when EU leaders met in Cyprus in April, but has since fallen off the agenda.

The sending of the letter was confirmed to the Cyprus Mail by presidential press office director Victor Papadopoulos, though he said he could offer no further details, while news website Politico quoted Christodoulides as having written that “I cannot overstate the importance of this provision for the EU and its member states”.

This, he wrote, rings true “especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty”.

“Given the gravity of the challenges we face, Cyprus would welcome the resumption of discussions at the relevant preparatory bodies. I would therefore appreciate an update on the proposals under consideration, as well as a timeline for next steps,” he wrote.

The leaders of the EU’s 27 member states had during a European Council summit in Nicosia in April resolved to demand the creation of a defence “playbook”, with Cypriot government sources at the time lamenting that “nothing has been done” in the decade since the first and only time that the bloc’s mutual defence clause was activated.

It was France which triggered Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, better known as the Lisbon Treaty, after Paris was hit by a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015.

Article 42.7 not attached to any formal operational plans

While the text of the treaty states that “if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”, it is not attached to any formal operational plans or international military structures.

Government sources lamented in April that “there is no clear picture of procedures, capabilities, or response times across member states”, and also decried what they described as a lack of clarity regarding the types of support which can be requested, what each member state may provide, and how quickly assistance can be delivered.

They also stressed that if a member state triggers Article 42.7, assistance must not be optional.

“It is a legal obligation, not a political choice,” they said, before adding that “member states cannot question the reasons” behind the triggering of the clause if it is triggered, provided that an armed attack has taken place.

However, in the six months since that summit, the matter of defence has slipped down the European agenda, with the most recent European Council summit, held in Brussels, being dedicated largely to the EU’s multiannual financial framework, its budget for the years between 2028 and 2034, while conversations on defence centred on Ukraine, which remains, for now, outside the bloc.

Focus inside EU has now shifted to multi-year budget

The focus on the budget has come with most leaders across Europe aiming to have the next multiannual financial framework devised and agreed upon by the member states by the end of this year.

Christodoulides had said on this matter last week that should an agreement not be reached by the end of this year, “I believe we would be sending a negative message, not only to European citizens, but to the world”.

Mutual defence was most recently discussed at the European Parliament last month, with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas decrying “Russia’s hybrid warfare in Europe” and calling for measures to be taken against it.

“Putin is a textbook bully. Moscow’s hybrid attacks are designed to intimidate us, paralyse our societies and make us hesitate to act. That is precisely what Putin wants. We should not let fear dictate our choices. We should match the level of these attacks with concrete action and a confident response. Europe’s security requires it and citizens expect it,” she said.

Cypriot MEPs called for stronger Article 42.7, looser relations with Turkey

In response, Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides, of Diko, said that “hybrid attacks are also taking place for years by the neo-Ottoman Erdogan regime against member states in the eastern Mediterranean” in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He called for the EU’s mutual defence clause, Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, which is commonly known as the Lisbon Treaty, to be made “workable and operational”, before telling to Kallas that “your double standard policy is increasing part of the problem” regarding Turkey.

Fellow Cypriot MEP Geadis Geadi, of Elam, also called for the EU to “establish a clear roadmap for activating Article 42.7”, saying that this should “ensure that the mutual defence clause can be applied immediately and effectively”, and also criticised the EU for not treating Turkey and Russia in the same way.

“Mrs Kallas, be careful when you shake hands which are stained with the blood of hundreds and thousands of innocent people,” he said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has said that he will “immediately” accept the opening of formal negotiations with the aim of resolving the Cyprus problem if his counterpart, President Nikos Christodoulides, unconditionally accepts that there be a rotating presidency in a post-solution Cyprus.

He said the issue had most recently been raised during the United Nations’ high-level week last month, when both he and Christodoulides were in New York, with Christodoulides having requested a tripartite meeting with him and either UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres or Cyprus problem envoy Maria Angela Holguin.

With Christodoulides pushing for a meeting before both men returned to Cyprus, Erhurman said that Holguin had informed him that “the Greek Cypriot side was ready to accept the rotating presidency”.

In response, he said, he had said that “I am ready to sit at the negotiating table if the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, explicitly and unconditionally accepts the rotating presidency”.

However, he said, he “received no response” to this, and as such, no meeting was held before both men returned from New York.

“Our stance is consistent and stable. We are ready for all kinds of negotiations, but the preparation must be done properly. We are pushing for a result,” he said.

In the absence of this commitment, he said, “I did not want a token meeting” or a “photo opportunity meeting”, but instead, “I want to get work done.”

Christodoulides said Erhurman wishes to set ‘preconditions’

Those comments come after Christodoulides had accused him of attempting to set “preconditions” on the resumption of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem in reaction to his insistence on a rotating presidency.

“It is clear that the Turkish side … is setting terms and preconditions for the resumption of talks. They are demanding that we accept, in advance, specific positions of interest to the Turkish Cypriot community, while showing absolutely no willingness to discuss or accept our own positions on other significant aspects of the Cyprus problem,” he said.

He added that “it is for this reason that I have repeatedly stated that all these issues must be discussed at the negotiating table”.

“In my view, setting terms and preconditions prior to the resumption of negotiations is a tactic which does not facilitate progress,” he said, before adding that the Turkish Cypriot side’s view is “particularly revealing” as it “sheds light on why the talks have not yet resumed” and “highlights one of the primary reasons for this continued delay”.

Dana: Rotating presidency an indispensable component of political equality

The rotating presidency has long been viewed by the Turkish Cypriot side as being fundamental to the political equality between Cyprus’ two major communities which is stipulated by United Nations resolutions.

Erhurman’s undersecretary Mehmet Dana had told the Cyprus Mail that it is an “indispensable component” of political equality, saying that “political equality forms the foundation of a structure requiring the joint exercise of a limited number of specific powers, shared competences, and this is not open to negotiation”.

He added that the “primary reason” for the collapse of previous rounds of negotiations on the Cyprus problem, and “specifically” those between Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci at Crans-Montana in 2017, was that “political equality was made a subject of negotiation and subsequently used to cause a deadlock in the process”.

Therefore, he said, “guided by the [United Nations] secretary-general’s approach that ‘this time must be different’, acceptance of this issue in principle must occur prior to the commencement of the negotiation process”.

“Naturally, once the rotating presidency is accepted in principle, the specific terms, such as the duration of the respective tenures and other details, would be negotiated once the talks actually begin,” he said.

Cypriot member of the European Parliament Giorgos Georgiou, of Akel, likened the European Union to Pontius Pilate, as the Strasbourg plenary session discussed preparations for next month’s Cop31 climate summit, which will be held in the Turkish Mediterranean city of Antalya.

“The climate crisis is here. Wildfires, heatwaves, drought, catastrophic floods, a state of constant emergency. It is the European peoples, of course, who pay the price,” he said, before adding that The Left, the European grouping to which he belongs, is “demanding the obvious” from the Cop31 summit.

He said that what must be achieved is “action, not new promises”, as “we have already been burned and drowned by promises”.

“The battle against the climate crisis is, of course, not merely an environmental one. It is a struggle for social justice and equality, free from exclusion, yet, regrettably, Turkey has sought to obstruct the participation of the Republic of Cyprus and to weaponise the conference,” he said.

In this, he said that Turkey is “aiming to politically promote the illegal secessionist entity in the occupied territories” through its hosting of Cop31, and that this alleged aim is “consistent with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum”, the maritime jurisdiction deal which was ratified by the Libyan parliament on Tuesday.

“As for you, shall I say it? I shall. You are acting like Pontius Pilates regarding Turkey, and perhaps even regarding the climate,” he said.

Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judea and is best known in the contemporary era for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion. His name has become a metaphor for refusing personal accountability for a harmful decision and moral cowardice.

Climate change ‘even more pronounced in Europe’

Diko’s Costas Mavrides also spoke during the Cop31 debate and stressed that “climate change is, in fact, not an ideology”, and that it is “even more pronounced in Europe, and particularly in the Mediterranean”.

He stressed that “such global problems … require global approaches and international cooperation”, and on this front stressed the need for “concrete, measurable targets aimed at closing the gap between stated objectives and their practical implementation”.

In addition, he, too criticised Turkey for what he decried as “weaponising” the summit, saying that this has come “once again to the detriment of the Republic of Cyprus”, and that the Turkish government has “attempted to block the president of Cyprus’ participation”.

As such, he called on the European Union’s institutions to “stand firmly in defence of this member state of the European Union and the United Nations”.

Christodoulides, Erhurman to attend summit in Antalya

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had announced last week that he will “of course” attend the summit, adding that, “I am pleased that, thanks to the decisive contribution of our partners, and following our diplomatic and political efforts conducted away from the public eye, we have achieved a result”.

His participation had initially been in doubt as the Republic of Turkey does not recognise him as a head of state.

Asked whether he may also be expecting “unpleasant surprises” during the summit, he said that “we are preparing for any eventuality, and I must tell you that we do not rule one out”.

“At the same time, there will also be reactions from the Republic of Cyprus’ side, a member state of the European Union, of the EU which has 27 member states,” he said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, too, said he will attend the summit, saying that “we received an invitation from the president of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan” and that “we will be in Antalya”.

He added that he has “learned from the press” that President Nikos Christodoulides “has also announced that he will be there, as is customary”.

“As we always say, diplomacy and dialogue are always beneficial,” he said.

Turkey has been designated as a co-host for the summit, alongside Australia, with Turkish Environment Minister Murat Kurum designated as the chairman of Cop31 and Australian Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen set to preside over negotiations between political leaders at the Antalya summit.

While Turkey does not recognise Christodoulides as a head of state, a host country does not have the right to unilaterally exclude any United Nations member state from the negotiations which take place during the 12-day summit.

Communities have been invited to submit projects for a new €3.5 billion funding round, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Wednesday during a visit to the village of Sykopetra in Limassol.

Speaking at the opening of the Prophet Elias community park and mini football pitch, Christodoulides said the government would decide on projects across Cyprus worth that sum in the new period.

He urged the community council to put forward projects, alone or with neighbouring communities, so they could be approved next September.

He said the government had shown through its projects that rural and mountain areas were a priority.

He cited the 2024 decision to keep Kampos primary school open when it had only one pupil.

Many more children now attend, he said, because the school drew young parents to the village.

He said communities needed infrastructure, especially in Limassol, so that young couples could return, and that the aim was for villages to grow beyond 120 residents.

The community council’s contribution to development projects has been cut to 5 per cent.

Christodoulides said support for equipping the clinic at the community stadium should be taken for granted.

For community toilets, he asked the council to say how much was needed for studies, to be handled through the commissioner for mountainous communities.

A house renovation for an office and a thematic museum would be supported once plans were mature and permits secured.

He said the Palaichori to Sykopetra road widening, or a new link to Apliki, concerned the Nicosia district governor Constantinos Yiorkadjis, and promised to return to see whether work could proceed in phases.

Greek Cypriot negotiator Menelaos Menelaou said on Wednesday that problems over the routing of the Pyroi crossing point “have been overcome”, although a dispute over a second crossing point still stands in the way of an agreement.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Menelaou said the remaining obstacle was the Turkish Cypriot demand that the Louroujina to Lympia crossing be included in any such deal.

He said the Louroujina issue remains open and has not yet been reconciled with the Greek Cypriot proposal for a crossing at Kokkina.

The earlier dispute concerned the route of the proposed road from Athienou through Pyroi to the Nicosia suburb of Aglandjia.

The Greek Cypriot side treats it as a single crossing, while the Turkish Cypriot side objected to a road running through so many kilometres of the buffer zone, arguing that it created security complications.

Menelaou told the Cyprus Mail the route now sits roughly evenly, between the government-controlled areas and the occupied north.

Pyroi is a ruined village in the north, inside a Turkish military zone, whose residents have been displaced since 1974.

Athienou lies on the government-controlled side, and a crossing would cut the drive from there to Nicosia from up to an hour to about ten minutes.

Christodoulides said on Tuesday that he had given Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman two new proposals on crossing points, one of which had already been rejected.

Erhurman separately confirmed late on Tuesday that he had rejected a proposal to open the fenced-off area of Varosha under United Nations administration and the port of Famagusta under European Union control.

He said formal negotiations could not begin until the sides agree on methodology and make progress on confidence-building measures.

New crossing points are the most concrete of those measures, as both sides agreed on a package of four after an enlarged meeting in Geneva in March 2025, when UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told each side to suggest two.

The Greek Cypriot side proposed the Athienou to Aglandjia road, with a crossing at each end, while the Turkish Cypriot side proposed Mia Milia and Louroujina.

The package has since stalled, for during Guterres’ visit in July, sources told the Cyprus Mail that the Greek Cypriot side suggested opening only two of the four, with Louroujina shelved, which the Turkish Cypriot side refused.

The European Union and Turkey are preparing high-level talks before the end of October in an attempt to revive negotiations over Cyprus, following an initiative by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides announced the planned meeting on 16 October during the European Council summit in Brussels, saying discussions would address both the resumption of negotiations over the island’s division and the possibility of improving relations between Ankara and the EU.

The initiative follows diplomatic contacts in New York involving Guterres, European institutional leaders and the Cypriot government. However, renewed differences over the conditions for negotiations have already cast doubt on whether the process can produce substantial progress.

On Sunday, 18 October, Christodoulides accused Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman of imposing preconditions before formal negotiations could resume, particularly concerning arrangements for a rotating presidency in a reunited Cyprus.

The disagreement underlines the difficulties facing an initiative intended to reconnect the UN peace process with the EU’s broader relationship with Turkey.

Brussels seeks a negotiating role

Christodoulides said the planned meeting between the EU and Turkey would examine how to establish the necessary conditions for negotiations to restart within the previously agreed UN framework.

He indicated that any improvement in EU–Turkey relations would be linked to progress over Cyprus.

The president’s announcement in Brussels follows months of diplomatic consultations involving the Commission, European Council and UN.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa have urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to support the renewed peace initiative.

Turkey’s relationship with the EU encompasses trade, customs cooperation, migration and regional security. Ankara remains an EU candidate country, although accession negotiations have been effectively stalled for years.

Cyprus remains one of the principal obstacles to any substantial improvement in that relationship.

The island has been divided since Turkey’s military intervention in 1974. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004, but EU law remains suspended in areas where its government does not exercise effective control.

The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.

Disagreement over political equality

The UN has traditionally sought a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Negotiations collapsed at Crans-Montana in Switzerland in 2017 amid unresolved disputes over security guarantees, political representation, territory and the presence of Turkish troops.

Erhürman, who became Turkish Cypriot leader in 2025, has expressed support for renewed negotiations within a federal framework. However, he wants assurances about political equality and the structure of future talks.

The latest dispute concerns whether the principle of a rotating presidency between the two communities should be accepted before negotiations resume.

Christodoulides rejected that demand on 18 October, arguing that substantive questions should be negotiated together rather than settled in advance.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership regards rotating executive power as an essential element of political equality, while the Greek Cypriot side objects to making agreement on that arrangement a prerequisite for restarting discussions.

The disagreement has emerged despite recent efforts by the United Nations to improve relations between the communities.

In a statement issued on 13 October, the UN confirmed that Christodoulides and Erhürman had met in Nicosia and agreed to continue discussions, including participation in bicommunal initiatives.

The two leaders subsequently attended a joint event in Pyla, although their public differences persisted.

Turkey’s position remains decisive

A Cyprus settlement would require agreement not only between the island’s communities but also on Turkey’s military presence and the system of security guarantees established at independence.

Ankara has long maintained that Turkish Cypriots require effective political equality and credible security arrangements.

Greek Cypriot leaders argue that the continuation of foreign intervention rights and Turkish military deployments would be incompatible with a fully sovereign and reunited state.

The EU cannot resolve those differences independently of the UN process, but it can influence the economic and institutional framework within which a settlement might operate.

A comprehensive agreement would affect property ownership, trade, customs arrangements, border administration and the application of European law throughout the island.

The European Commission has sought a greater role in supporting the UN-led peace process, reflecting Brussels’ interest in progress towards a settlement.

Negotiations face immediate test

The UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy, María Ángela Holguín, has warned that the opportunity for renewed negotiations may be narrowing.

Disagreements over diplomatic representation, contacts with foreign missions and the status of Turkish Cypriot institutions have complicated relations between the two communities.

Christodoulides has also referred to a series of proposals intended to advance discussions, including the future of the fenced-off area of Varosha. Their full contents have not been publicly disclosed.

The proposed EU–Turkey meeting offers a separate diplomatic channel through which Brussels can assess Ankara’s willingness to support renewed negotiations.

No final date, detailed agenda or list of participants had been publicly confirmed by 18 October.

The immediate test will be whether the parties can agree on the basis for formal talks without attempting to settle disputed constitutional questions before negotiations begin.