1. Presentation by the Minister of Communications and Works,
Mr Efthemios Flourentzou, to the Diplomatic Missions
of EU Member States and EEA Countries
Our contribution towards a “Better Europe”
I warmly thank you all for having responded to our invitation to attend today’s presentation, which aims to give you an overview of the Cyprus Presidency’s priorities in the areas of Transport, Telecommunications and the EU Integrated Maritime Policy.
In two weeks time, Cyprus will take over the rotating Presidency of the EU Council for six months. For Cyprus this will be a moment in the limelight. For the Ministry of Communications and Works it is a great challenge, which requires strategic planning and intensive political and organisational activities on national and European level, in order to run a successful Presidency.
The Ministry of Communications and Works has a multidimensional portfolio with broad areas of responsibility covering four main EU policies:
• Transport
• Telecommunications and Information Society
• Integrated Maritime Policy
• Space Policy – Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
Our contribution towards a “Better Europe” is through growth. Sustainable and inclusive growth as well as job creation could be achieved through the effective development of the above integrated policies. We will therefore attach emphasis on the promotion of these policies that can foster growth and enhance social cohesion.
2. Presentation by the Permanent Secretary
of the Ministry of Communications and Works, Mr Alecos Michaelides,
to the Diplomatic Missions of EU Member States and EEA Countries
Our objectives and planning on EU legislative initiatives
Transport is the backbone of the European economy. In this respect, Cyprus will strive to promote policy measures that will be in line with the White Paper on EU Transport Policy for the decade 2010-2020 which aim to achieve transport sustainability in order to stimulate growth, thus minimizing the adverse effects of the economic crisis.
Modern and well developed transport and telecommunication infrastructures are vital for the growth and competitiveness of the EU economy. The further development and progressive completion of the trans-European networks therefore remains a priority. These networks can effectively support the social, territorial and economic cohesion between all regions of the Union. In this respect, the negotiations on the Connecting Europe Facility, as part of the Multiannual Financial Framework, will be a priority for the Presidency.
The development of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS - the Galileo Project) will contribute to economic growth in Europe. Galileo services will bring benefits to the full range of transport modes, create new opportunities for mobile telecommunications and enhance the safety of persons and property. The Presidency will take forward the work on the legislative proposal on the implementation and exploitation of the GNSS, subject to the negotiations on the Multiannual Financial Framework. The finalization of this work will be a substantial step towards creating financial and management stability and contributing to the system’s Full Operational Capability.
In the area of aviation, the full implementation of the Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs), as part of the process of the completion of the Single European Sky, is considered a priority for the Cyprus Presidency. In this respect, the Presidency will work, in close cooperation with the European Commission and the Member States, to make the FABs operational, thus improving aviation performance. In this respect, Cyprus will host an Aviation Summit on the 11th and 12th of October in an attempt to adopt detailed set of rules, performance targets and guidance on FABs, as well as to examine ways and possible solutions to overcome certain barriers, thus making FAB’s functional as early as possible.
The Presidency, in close cooperation with the European Commission, will take forward the work done on the external aviation policy, in particular on forthcoming open sky agreements with third countries.
The further development of the Digital Agenda for Europe is a priority for the Cyprus Presidency. Our aim is to contribute to the completion of the Digital Single Market pillar by highlighting at the same time its importance.
The Digital Single Market will be further stimulated by the implementation of the Directive on the re-use of Public Sector Information that will ensure a common approach across all EU Member States. The formulation of this new framework, which will have a significant positive economic impact as it is expected to generate new businesses and jobs, will be promoted during our Presidency.
In order to boost the digital economy, it is of utmost importance to increase the confidence of citizens and businesses in online transactions. Therefore, the Presidency will work on the proposal for a Pan-European legislative framework on trust and confidence in electronic transactions in the internal market (e-identification and e-signature) that will facilitate the use of public and private online services.
The main task of the EU Presidency is to run the agenda of the Council for six months. The vast majority of this agenda is “inherited”. In other words, the Presidency examines the dossiers that simply “land” on the Presidency’s table. A detailed list of all the legislative initiatives that will be dealt with by the Cyprus Presidency appears in the handouts that have been circulated to you.
3. Presentation by the Minister of Communications and Works,
Mr Efthemios Flourentzou, to the Diplomatic Missions
of EU Member States and EEA Countries
Our initiatives and priorities
It is obvious that the great bulk of a Presidency’s programme will consist of inherited and wholly foreseeable material. The Presidency’s capacity to set priorities in EU policy making is limited. Despite the above, it is worth for Cyprus to explore this potential towards influencing the EU policy agenda especially on maritime affairs.
I would therefore like to draw your attention to our following initiatives.
Τhe EU Integrated Maritime Policy is an important tool in meeting the objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy. The potential of Europe’s oceans and seas for the EU economy, sustainability and prosperity, as well as the need for a genuine strategic approach to Europe’s maritime affairs and coastal areas should be further explored. The Cyprus Presidency will, as a priority, aim at ‘reenergizing’ the Integrated Maritime Policy (IMP), through the examination and adoption of a political Declaration, in order to create momentum for the implementation of this innovative cross-cutting policy.
This priority will be highlighted with the organization of an Informal Ministerial Meeting on EU-IMP as a follow-up to the one organised by the Portuguese Presidency in Lisbon in October 2007. The said Ministerial Meeting under the theme “Reenergizing EU-IMP: From Lisbon to Limassol” will take place in Cyprus, on the 8th of October 2012 and it will be addressed by the President of the Republic, Mr Demetris Christofias, the President of the European Commission, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, and the Commissioner responsible for Maritime Affairs, Mrs Maria Damanaki.
EU Ministers responsible for maritime affairs will take note of the progress made on the EU Integrated Maritime Policy and they will adopt the “Limassol Declaration” aiming to become the milestone for the future development of the EU Integrated Maritime Policy. The “Limassol Declaration” will be submitted to the Council for further examination and adoption of formal Council Conclusions, in view of the General Affairs Council and the European Council in December 2012.
The Ministerial Meeting will focus on the Blue Growth initiative which aims to stimulate growth, jobs and competitiveness from marine and maritime sectors, which represent a source of untapped economic potential that is vital for Europe’s future and its economic recovery. The said Ministerial Meeting will also emphasize the importance of EU Member States to enhance sectoral and cross-sectoral cooperation with third countries sharing a sea basin with the EU, thus increasing the potential for sustainable growth perspectives from the oceans, seas and coasts.
The road to the “Limassol Declaration” appears on the screen. The first Draft of the Declaration will be formulated on the basis of the contributions of the High Level Focal Points of all Member States and the outcome of the “Blue Growth” Questionnaire. The first Draft of the Declaration along with the official invitation will be sent to all Ministers of EU Member States and EEA countries responsible for maritime affairs in the first week of July. The said Draft will be examined in the Friends of the Presidency Group of the Council, in July and September, in order to evaluate the official views of Member States and formulate the final Draft. It is important to convey the message to your Capitals to actively participate in this process.
Another important initiative of the Cyprus Presidency is to highlight the key role of new and innovative technologies in the transport sector through the integration of two central EU policies, the European Transport Policy and the Digital Agenda for Europe.
The Cyprus Presidency will organize a joint Transport and Telecoms Informal Ministerial Meeting on the role of ICT in the implementation of the European transport policy. The said Ministerial Meeting will take place on the 16th and 17th of July. Its main objective is to support the EU Telecoms and Transport Policies by further promoting the development of public open data policies addressing multimodality through the effective development of intelligent transport systems. The outcome from the said Ministerial Meeting will be presented to the ITS World Congress which will take place in Vienna in 2012.
The two Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, Commissioner for Transport, Mr Siim Kallas, and Commissioner for Digital Agenda, Mrs Neelie Kroes, will attend and address the Ministerial Meeting.
Official invitations to all Ministers of EU Member States and EEA countries were sent on the 1st of June and their contribution to the Orientation Paper is expected by Friday 22nd of June. I would like to invite you to encourage your Ministers to attend, in order to substantially contribute to a fruitful and open debate that will add real value to our common objectives to intelligently explore the role of ICT and Digital Agenda of Europe to the effective implementation of the EU Transport Policy.
An area of crucial importance with social dimension is road safety. Cyprus recognizes that a big proportion of road crashes involve young road users and therefore it will host the “4th European Road Safety Day” (25 July 2012) dedicated to youth with representatives from competent national authorities and youth organizations of the EU and its neighbouring regions.
The aim is to increase awareness on the sensitive issue of road safety among young people and to give the opportunity to the participants to exchange views and propose possible concrete actions on ways to improve youth road safety in a national and regional level.
Our Presidency provides a great opportunity to promote the Cyprus's Archaeological Heritage. In this respect, the Department of Antiquities of our Ministry will organize five major exhibitions in well known museums abroad as well as in Cyprus.
More information on these exhibitions is provided in the leaflet which is included in your folders.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Small Member States often run successful Presidencies as they can be better at listening and brokering, key skills for an effective neutral and impartial chairing of the meetings. Working in close cooperation with all Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission is a prerequisite for a successful Presidency.
We are very good listeners, and therefore I would like to establish with you a direct line of communication in order to carefully listen to your national positions and exchange views thus reaching effective solutions and achieving progress for the benefit of Europe, for the benefit of our citizens.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Works, Mr Alecos Michaelides, the EU Affairs Unit of our Ministry, all our Departments and Staff and myself personally are at your disposal.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Poland and Denmark for their significant contribution to the accomplishment of the 18-month programme of our Trio.