Ahead of the informal summit in Cyprus: Iran, energy, and the EU budget on the agenda

Brussels – Geopolitics and the common budget: the informal meeting of European Council members on 23 and 24 April in Nicosia will face a number of challenges. In the invitation letter that the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, sent to European leaders, it is stated that there will be two main issues on the agenda at the informal summit in Cyprus: on the one hand, the discussion among Member States on current geopolitical challenges and, in particular, on Europe’s role; on the other, the chapter concerning the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2028–2034. 

“I would like to invite you to our informal meeting of Heads of State and Government, which will take place on 23 and 24 April,” Costa begins. Nikos Christodoulides (the President of Cyprus, the country currently holding the six-month presidency of the Council of the EU), “will be hosting us on this occasion in Nicosia and Ayia Napa. On 24 April, after our meeting at 27, we will also get together with our key regional partners to discuss the situation in the Middle East,” Costa adds.

A dinner between national leaders and European officials is scheduled for 23 April, which will also be attended by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who will report on the latest developments in the conflict that began over four years ago with Russia’s large-scale invasion. The discussion will then turn to the situation in the Middle East. “We will then address the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, which poses serious challenges to the European Union,” notes Costa. “First, we must discuss our response to this rapidly evolving situation. This includes Europe’s contribution to de-escalation and peace in the region, as well as to freedom of navigation,” explains the President of the European Council. “Furthermore, we must tackle the energy crisis, with the effects of high fossil fuel prices that are already visible in the daily lives of our citizens and companies.” Therefore, “given the potential further negative economic consequences of a prolonged conflict, we will discuss the tools at our disposal, building on the decisions taken at the March European Council and the measures proposed by the Commission following those decisions. Finally, this discussion will also cover the Union’s readiness to respond to the challenging geopolitical and security context,” he explains.

After the first day of proceedings, the morning of the 24th will begin with a discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the s 2028–2034 period, i.e. the EU’s long-term budget. This is a sensitive and divisive issue amongst EU institutions: initially scheduled for the March summit, the debate on the matter was subsequently postponed and rescheduled for the informal meeting in April. “Since then, the issue has become even more urgent. We must have an open dialogue on how we can match our ambitions with an appropriate level of financing, including about the importance of New Own Resources,” comments Costa. The aim is to find a compromise between funding ambitions and the “new own resources”, i.e. the EU’s new own revenue streams. The competitiveness agenda comes to the fore in this debate, because the budget “
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it will be the main instrument at our disposal for common strategic action.” As things stand, a compromise between Member States is still a long way off. Whilst on the one hand the budget is the largest in history, at €2 trillion, on the other hand, there remains resistance to its new structure, due to the potential merger or centralisation of long-standing programmes that were once separate, such as the PAC and Cohesion Fund, which many countries, regional bodies and parliamentarians view as a loss of territorial autonomy. Furthermore, the amount of resources is another source of division, with some viewing €2 trillion as too high and others calling for more. In addition, the scope includes the question of new own resources—taxes—which, while on the one hand serve to prevent the next budget from depending almost entirely on government contributions, are, on the other hand, unpopular with governments.

Finally, the focus will return to the Middle East, with the addition of regional leaders who will discuss opportunities for cooperation. “Following our meeting of Heads of State or Government, we will continue our discussions on current events in the Middle East during an informal working lunch with leaders from the region. This will provide an opportunity to exchange views on shared challenges, but also on emerging opportunities for cooperation,” Costa writes to the leaders. This is therefore a “crucial” meeting, as the President of the European Council maintains, which will, above all, allow Europe to regain its voice at a time when the need is growing ever stronger.