Iran, Cyprus cancels its presidency agenda: March events to be held online or rescheduled

Brussels – The war in Iran and the Middle East is forcing Cyprus to drastically revise its agenda and cancel all preparatory meetings. Cyprus, a country whose government holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, in recent days has already had to postpone an informal meeting of European Affairs Ministers due to drone attacks on British bases on the island. However, the situation is not improving, and for security reasons, all other meetings will be cancelled. 

“Following the postponement of the informal Councils and informal working group meetings that were to take place this week in Cyprus, and given the partial disruption of air links, in order to ensure predictability and avoid inconvenience to delegations, all meetings scheduled to take place in Cyprus in March will be held virtually or rescheduled,” Cypriot officials said. 

Every six months, the country holding the rotating presidency of the EU Council hosts a number of events, varying in theme and format. At the ministerial level, Cyprus has already cancelled and postponed the meetings of European Affairs Ministers (2 March) and Culture Ministers (5 and 6 March) to a date to be determined. Other informal meetings are scheduled for 11–12 March (Defence), 23–24 March (Telecommunications), 27–28 March (Ecofin), and 30–31 March (Research and Competitiveness). 

In addition to these events, there are also less political and institutional ones, such as conferences, forums, and round tables. These are all the events organised by Cyprus for its six-month presidency, which the war in Iran and its extension are forcing to be reorganised.