European parliament president on official visit

European parliament president Roberta Metsola arrives in Cyprus on Thursday to discuss the latest gas find in the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) among other issues.

Her packed schedule includes meeting President Nicos Anastasiades and addressing parliament.

Metsola will be welcomed at Larnaca airport on Thursday evening by the House president Annita Demetriou.

On Friday, Metsola will meet first with Anastasiades after which they will hold a joint news conference.

At 11am, she will meet Demetriou followed by another joint news conference and then address the House of Representatives at 11.45am in the presence of Anastasiades.

At 12.20pm she will have a meeting with the UN Special Representative in Cyprus, Colin Stewart, followed by a working lunch at 1.15pm which will be hosted by the House president.

Metsola will also have a meeting with the mayor of Famagusta and municipal councillors in Dherynia at 4pm, while at 6pm, together with Demetriou, she will attend an event organised by youth groups and students of the University of Cyprus in the university library.

Ahead of the visit, Metsola told Kathimerini newspaper in an emailed interview on Sunday that the latest gas discovery in block 6 of the island’s EEZ was a promising development at a time when the EU needs to replace Russia as an energy source.

“The recent discoveries of significant natural gas reserves offshore Cyprus are important for two reasons: First, they hold the promise of increasing natural gas production in the EU without dependence on third countries for energy supply. This news is promising at a time when we need to replace Russian energy sources,” she said.

“Second, today’s crisis has brought the member states of the European Union even closer together – we are developing common solutions for common problems. This means that the discovery of large natural gas deposits in one country is good news for the entire bloc and makes us all stronger.”